


I'm Falling For Your Eyes, But They Don't Know Me Yet

by justyrae



Series: I Think I'm About to Lose My Mind [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Veterinarians, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, First Dates, Flirting, Frottage, Kissing, M/M, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-28
Updated: 2014-01-28
Packaged: 2018-01-10 09:22:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1157961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyrae/pseuds/justyrae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry can't stop adopting puppies because he wants to keep flirting with Liam, the hunky veterinarian.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Falling For Your Eyes, But They Don't Know Me Yet

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by [this](http://tinybootystyles.tumblr.com/post/73039168737/harry-styles-cant-stop-adopting-puppies-because)
> 
> title from 'Kiss Me' by Ed Sheeran

Harry Styles had a bit of a problem when it came to falling in love. He did it quite often, and with things just as often as with people. It had gotten him into trouble in years past, though mostly just with his family and friends.

They were never truly angry with him, even though they'd all been put through the ringer a number of times because of his falling in love on a whim. That's just who Harry was, and they knew he wouldn't be able to change even if he wanted to.

The only time he seemed to lose this unparalleled sense of adoration for the world around him was when his family dwindled from three to one. Due to their fortune, his tragedy was in all the newspapers and he had a extremely hard time coping with his loss. His only source of comfort came from his friend of far too many years, Louis Tomlinson.

Louis had stuck by his side through the good and bad, and now during the completely wretched. He found the only way to keep Harry from spiraling deep into depression was to make him laugh, which he was extremely good at.

"I know I said I moved in here to take care of you," he remarked one day as he was tidying up their flat. "But I swear to God if you call me Alfred one more time, I will kill you."

"Oh, Alfie," Harry said cheekily from the sofa, trying to keep a straight face as Louis glared at him. "If I'm not Batman then who am I?"

"A stupid git," Louis replied with an eyeroll. "Just because you've got Bruce Wayne's money does not make you Batman."

"I could be." Harry chuckled. "If I wanted to."

"Not even if you wanted to." Louis thumped Harry on the head as he passed by. "You're too scrawny."

"You mock my pain!" Harry groaned.

"And stop watching The Princess Bride!" Louis called from the next room. "I'm not quoting it with you anymore!"

"It was mum's favorite," Harry mumbled softly.

It was another several months before Harry returned to a semblance of normal life, though his life prior to his parents' death was anything but. Louis had been taking care of not only him but the family business as well, though he was constantly pestering Harry to take an interest in something.

The only thing Harry seemed to like about anything having to do with his family was the charity his mother had set up. Harry had been extremely close to his mother, and he felt that he owed it to her to continue her work in her memory.

As time went on, and with constant badgering from Louis, Harry took more interest in the charity work. He had to admit, he loved helping people and he was a natural when it came to organizing events to help those in need.

Harry's former love of things transferred quite well into his work, though it wasn't too long before his past caught up with him and he fell hard. The object of his affection, for once, was not a flirty twenty-something girl or a handsome-yet-dull boytoy but instead someone he did not expect.

It all began when Harry found a new target for his latest charity event, a local animal shelter that was at risk of closing. The first time Harry went there, he fell in love with a small dog that barely fit in his arms.

If Louis had been there, he'd have adamantly refused to let Harry adopt the dog. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry knew this, but chose to ignore it and adopted him anyway.

But the dog wasn't the only object of Harry's affection that day. Once Harry had finished the paperwork for the adoption, a boy caught his eye and Harry fell in love all over again.

Harry had to stop himself from humming "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window" as he stared openly at the gorgeous boy. Unlike every other person Harry had seen in the shelter thus far, he was wearing a white coat that Harry could only assume meant he was the veterinarian. In his mind, Harry was begging him to turn just a little further towards him so he could see if his name was stitched upon the chest.

But he didn't. The boy didn't even notice Harry, from what he could tell. Harry wasn't used to not being noticed, and normally he would've immediately strode over and introduced himself. For some reason, Harry's normally overly-flirtatious side had been toned down so much that he was left simply staring and lusting from afar.

If Harry had needed even an iota of more convincing to help the shelter, this boy would've been more than enough.

Before Harry had even made it ten steps through the door with the dog in his arms, he heard Louis' disapproving tone echo his name.

"What is that?"

"What, never seen a dog before?" Harry cracked a smile while Louis rolled his eyes.

"Why do you have a dog?" He sighed heavily. "Or better yet, why do I get the feeling that _I_ have a new dog?"

"Tut-tut, Louis. I'll have you know I fully intend to take fabulous care of…this dog."

"The poor thing doesn't even have a name?" Louis groaned. "You useless twat."

"Oi! Language!" Harry pressed his hands over the dog's ears and Louis laughed.

"You really are a twat."

"Shut up." Harry chuckled as he brought the dog over to Louis, pushing him into Louis' arms in an attempt to make him fall in love with the dog as well.

"So I take it the meeting went well, then?" Louis asked as he prevented the dog from slobbering all over his face. Harry smiled at the thought of the boy he'd seen, but he knew Louis wasn't going to be pleased when Harry told him what had happened.

"Didn't have it. Niall wasn't in," he said casually as he leaned back on the couch.

"Wh- I thought you called and set the whole thing up?" Harry grinned widely at Louis, to which Louis replied with an eyeroll.

"I was going to, but then I figured I'd just drop by instead."

"You are unbelievable." Louis sighed heavily, still trying to keep the dog from attacking his face with its tongue. "Can't I rely on you for anything?"

"My lovely smile and charming personality, of course."

"Of course," Louis echoed mockingly. "S'pose I'll have to call and set up the meeting then, won't I?"

"Would you?" Harry grinned again, leaning over and scooping the dog out of Louis' arms. "Be a dear."

"You are so lucky I-" Louis cut himself off, shaking his head as he got off the couch and went to grab a phone.

"Love me?" Harry offered as he let his new dog crawl all over him, covering his face with sloppy puppy kisses.

"Something like that," Louis called back. Harry chuckled.

"Make it for tomorrow, yeah?" he asked, but heard no response. Harry turned his attention back to his new dog, and his thoughts drifted to that of the boy he'd nearly swooned over earlier.

"Any chance you've got some ridiculous disease that would force me to take you to the vet every day?" he asked, grabbing the dog's ears and rubbing them as the dog looked back at him with wide eyes.

"No, of course not." Harry sighed, kissing the dog's head. "You're perfect."

Harry eventually named the dog Pongo, after the Disney character, much to Louis' dismay. Louis thought it was a stupid name for a dog that wasn't a Dalmatian, but eventually he let it go.

After just one night with Pongo, Louis seemed to soften up to the idea of having a dog around. This only reinforced Harry's decision about the animal shelter, though his true reasoning for wanting to get a move on things was still a mystery to Louis.

*

"Have you got your list?" Louis called from the couch in the living room as Harry was getting ready for his meeting with Niall, the owner of the shelter. Harry patted his pocket and called out yes, despite only being half-certain that there was actually something in there.

"Anything else?" Harry asked, passing by Louis who was deep in a game of tug of war with Pongo. He chuckled at the sight, having woken up to the sound of Louis talking to Pongo, saying ridiculous things like "who's a good doggie?" and "you are!"

"As long as you get all the documentation on the list, everything will be fine."

"Guess I should actually make sure I've got it then," he replied. Louis rolled his eyes and groaned.

"You are so-"

"Wonderful?"

"Hopeless, more like." It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes, and he did so as he leaned over the couch to give Pongo a pat on the head before he left.

"Don't miss me too much!" Harry called over his shoulder as he headed for the door.

"I won't!"

"I was talking to Pongo," Harry corrected, shooting a smirk at Louis before he left their flat.

While he made his way to the shelter, Harry couldn't keep a grin off of his face as he thought about the boy he'd seen the day before. He was completely infatuated with a boy he didn't even know the name of, but if he was being honest with himself it wasn't really all that new.

Harry was intent on learning his name that day, and as much else about him as he could. It had always been fairly easy for Harry to chat someone up, and he didn't expect things to be any different. Harry's mind was full of things he'd say to the boy, though most of them were enough to make anyone blush.

As he stepped through the door of the shelter, all thoughts of the boy from the day before seemed to vanish from his mind as he laid eyes on the boy behind the front desk. After all, Harry had a predilection to like shiny, new things.

He smiled cheekily as he walked forward, leaning on the desk as he looked down at the boy sitting behind it. The boy in question was biting his lip to keep a smile off his face, but Harry didn't mind. He found him even more attractive like that, trying to play coy.

"Can I help you?" he asked, putting a bookmark between the pages of the rather large textbook he'd been reading a moment before.

"Hope so," Harry replied as he glanced at the book's cover, finding it fitting that the gorgeous boy in front of him was interested in art. Harry chuckled lightly as he thought of himself as almost being a purveyor of fine art, particularly those in tight shirts with gorgeous brown eyes.

"Well why don't we start with why you're here?" the boy asked, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. Harry leaned forward, practically crawling on top of the desk.

"I'm here to see a man about a dog," he answered with a smirk. The boy chuckled, and Harry couldn't help but admire the way his features lit up with laughter.

"One in particular or browsing?"

"Bit of both?" Harry couldn't keep a grin off his face. Flirting was what he was truly good at, and it probably didn't help that he enjoyed it far too much to ever stop. The boy shook his head, still fighting the smile that kept trying to creep across his lips.

"Name?"

"Harry Styles. Yours?"

"Harry Styles?"

"Well, that's a coincidence." Harry chuckled as the boy shook his head, trying to recover from being flustered.

"No, that's-" He cleared his throat, shaking his head as he picked up the phone and nestled it between his ear and shoulder. "You're here to meet with Niall and Liam."

Liam. The name made Harry's heart skip a beat, though he didn't know why.

He tapped his fingers on the desk as the boy had a soft conversation over the phone. Harry's eyes wandered over his features, taking particular enjoyment in gazing at the tattoos that were peeking out from under his shirt.

"You can go on back," he said after he'd hung up the phone and looked at Harry again. "They're waiting for you."

"Thanks," Harry replied with a small smile as he walked around the desk.

"And my name's Zayn," he called after him. Harry grinned, but didn't say anything back.

It was this kind of behavior that had gotten him into trouble in the past, and it was also what Louis was trying to get him to actively avoid. It wasn't entirely Harry's fault that he couldn't help it, or at least that's the excuse he gave Louis.

Harry wasn't quite sure who to expect when he walked further into the shelter. But when he was greeted by a blonde boy with a large smile, Harry immediately took a liking to him.

"Harry, right?" he said as he took Harry's hand and shook it tightly. "Niall Horan, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Harry replied as he clapped Niall on the back. "Shall we get started?"

"Absolutely. Liam'll be along shortly, he's a bit tied up at the moment."

Harry refused his mind to sink into the gutter at that statement, but it was a futile effort. He cleared his throat as he settled into a chair opposite Niall, hoping that the heat he was feeling wasn't visible in his cheeks.

"I've got all the paperwork that your company requested, and-"

"Oh, I don't really care about all that nonsense," Harry interrupted with a smile. "I'm sure everything's in order."

"But, the bloke I spoke to on the phone, Louis? He-"

"He can be a bit pushy." Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I like to follow my heart."

"Admirable," Niall replied with a chuckle. "But I insist, pass these on?"

"Of course," Harry answered as he took the papers from Niall. He'd give them to Louis to pore over, and there was no doubt that Louis would insist he stuck around while he did so even though Harry would pay little to no attention.

"So, then, what do you want to hear from me?" Harry leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers together in his lap.

"Tell me your story. I like stories."

Niall chuckled again, looking like he was going to say something but thought better of it. Niall wasn't quite sure what to make of Harry, for he'd heard a great many things about both Harry and his parents. But none of that seemed to match up with the boy sitting before him, and that sparked an interest in Niall.

He started telling Harry the story of how he came to run the shelter, about the long hours he'd spent with the countless animals that had come through his doors, and most of all, about the people he'd recruited to help him. Harry listened intently, feeling the truth and intensity in Niall's words. He couldn't help but think of his mother, and how much she would've loved to help Niall.

He also couldn't help but listen even more closely when Niall said, "I was so lucky when Liam agreed to come on board."

"Liam?" Harry asked, his voice slightly rough from lack of use. Niall blinked, and at first Harry thought he'd noticed the shift in his voice but Niall simply smiled.

"Yeah, Liam Payne. The best damn veterinarian I've ever met."

"Niall, quit telling lies about me." Harry whipped around in his chair at the sound of a new voice, and his eyes fell upon Liam who was standing behind him with a soft smile. _Liam_ , the boy Harry had spent the previous night dreaming about, was now looking at him with a soft smile that made Harry want to melt into a puddle.

"No lies! Only the truth, you know me." Liam laughed and Harry suddenly felt warm all over, praying once again that it wasn't noticeable.

"If that's not the biggest lie you've ever told, I don't know what is," Liam said as he walked forward, passing Harry as he sat down in the chair next to Niall.

"Oi, don't undermine me in front of this one, eh?" Niall chided. "It's alright when it's in front of Zayn, but _not this one_."

"It's alright," Harry said with a light laugh, waving his hand. "It's charming."

"That's one word for it," Niall mumbled. "Anyway, Harry Styles, this is Liam Payne."

"Pleasure," Liam said as he held out his hand to Harry.

"All mine," Harry replied, relishing in the fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach when his hand touched Liam's. Suddenly Liam was all Harry could think about again, his earlier interaction with Zayn was all but forgotten.

The meeting continued, though Harry was constantly distracted by looking at Liam and trying to keep his mind on business and not the filthy thoughts that filled it whenever he glanced at Liam's mouth. Niall didn't seem to notice Harry's fixation with Liam, but every so often Liam's eye would catch Harry's and he would give him a look that sent shivers down Harry's spine.

"Would you like a tour?" Harry's eyes snapped up from where they were currently fixed on Liam's hands to Niall's eyes, and he took a deep breath as he nodded.

"That'd be great, yeah." Niall grinned, nudging Liam as he stood up.

"C'mon then, the grand tour awaits!"

Harry followed Niall, acutely aware of Liam tagging along behind them. Harry would be flat-out lying if he said he didn't started to saunter after Niall, swinging his hips a bit more than was necessary for normal walking. He thought he heard Liam chuckle behind him, but Harry didn't let himself turn around to see.

As Niall led him through the shelter, pointing out various rooms and explaining their purpose, Harry found himself wanting to spend more time there. And not just to learn more about Liam, though he had to admit to himself that Liam was a big part of it.

He couldn't stop himself from playing with each and every animal they came across, and he was actually carrying around a rabbit for a good portion of the tour. When they returned to the table they'd been sitting at before, Harry sat down, still cradling the rabbit in his arms.

"New best friend?" Liam asked with a playful smile.

"Something like that," Harry answered as he stroked the rabbit's ears. "Or just practicing for world domination." He smirked.

"So what d'you think?" Niall asked.

"I love it," Harry replied honestly. "I love what you're doing, and I think I'm extremely fortunate to be in a position to help you out."

Niall's face lit up. "You have no idea what it means to hear you say that."

"It's the least I can do." Harry smiled at Niall, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Liam smiling as well.

Harry felt proud of himself in that moment. It was the first time in a very long time that he felt as though his parents would've been proud of him as well, and that realization hit him a lot harder than he expected.

A minute later, Niall was being called by another one of the shelter workers and he excused himself from the table. Liam and Harry were left alone, and Harry was finding it a little harder to keep from crying with every minute that passed.

"You all right?" Liam asked, giving Harry a mildly worried look while Harry kept his eyes on the rabbit in his arms.

"Yeah," Harry replied with a soft sniffle. "I'm fine."

Liam chuckled softly, and Harry wasn't sure whether he really believed him or not. "I'm afraid you're going to have to give the rabbit back. He's already been adopted."

"Too bad," Harry remarked softly. "I've grown rather attached."

"Well then," Liam said as he stood up and offered Harry his hand. "We'll have to find you another one to get attached to."

Harry looked up at Liam and smiled, taking his hand while still holding the rabbit in the other. He didn't say anything in response, but in his head he mumbled _that's already happened._

*

Harry reluctantly passed the rabbit back to one of Liam's fellow workers, and shuffled his way out of the room after Liam. They passed a few rooms before Liam stepped into one, and a grin instantly broke out across Harry's face as he looked at all the puppies that were running around.

He immediately crouched down and practically squealed as a number of them ran over into his open arms and yipped excitedly. Harry scooped up one in particular, a small yellow Labrador with the largest eyes Harry had ever seen.

"Careful," Liam warned softly. "She's a bit of a biter."

Just as the words left his mouth, the dog snapped at Harry's fingers but he just chuckled. He bared his teeth at the dog and she responded by licking his nose.

"She's a feisty one, she is." Harry looked at Liam and grinned. "I like her already."

Liam shook his head, biting back a laugh of his own as he watched Harry and the dog. Like Niall, Liam had heard a great many things about Harry Styles. Unlike Niall, he wasn't so quick to trust him wholeheartedly.

He admired the work that Harry's mother had done, and he'd been happy to hear that Harry had taken over after her death, but he couldn't bring himself to forget. Liam wasn't the type to forgive and forget, and it had lost him many a friend in the past, but it had also saved him from trusting the wrong people.

Despite all of this, he couldn't help but admit to himself that he was rather captivated by Harry. Mostly his smile, and the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed, and the almost sinful way Harry filled his jeans; but Liam would be damned before he said any of those things aloud.

Instead he stood by and watched as Harry filled out the paperwork to adopt the dog, never once letting her go. Niall hadn't reappeared by the time they'd finished, so Liam walked Harry back to the front of the shelter.

"I'll come 'round tomorrow for more business things," Harry said as he paused by the front desk, taking special care to keep his eyes on Liam and not Zayn.

"I don't think you need-"

"No, I want to," Harry interrupted and Liam fought another smile. "Plus, Louis will want to come with and make sure everything's in order."

"Right, well I'll let Niall know to expect you, then."

"Will you be around as well?" Harry asked, the question coming out before he had the sense to stop it. Liam raised an eyebrow and Harry cleared his throat. "Y'know, in case there are any technical, animal-related questions."

Harry chose to ignore the snort from Zayn, though smiled a little when Liam chuckled lightly and shook his head.

"Yeah, I'll be here if any 'technical' questions come up," he replied, using air-quotes in a small way of poking fun at Harry.

"Excellent." Harry smiled. "See you tomorrow, then."

"See you," Liam repeated as Harry turned around and left, finally putting the dog down once they exited the shelter.

"He's so fit," Zayn commented with a smirk. Liam turned his head to stare at Zayn, shaking his head slightly.

"Whatever you say."

"Please," Zayn said with a scoff. "You know it as well as I do."

"Sure, Zayn." Liam normally didn't mind Zayn's banter, but he wasn't quite in the mood for it that day. He sidestepped Zayn and began to file Harry's adoption paperwork away, when he noticed a similar sheet from the day before.

"The things I'd do to him." Zayn grunted. "Or let him do to me."

Liam chuckled, slipping today's paperwork into the file before shutting it and turning back to Zayn.

"He likes dogs," he commented before leaning down and putting his lips close to Zayn's ear. "So he'd probably like it if you rolled over for him."

Zayn's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, having never heard anything remotely like that from Liam before. Liam chuckled heartily as he straightened back up and clapped his hand on Zayn's shoulder.

"Who are you and what've you done with Liam Payne?"

Liam didn't answer, he just smirked at Zayn before he left the front of the shelter, disappearing into the world he was familiar with. The world that had been invaded by one Harry Styles, and Liam wasn't quite sure how he was going to handle that.

*

Harry could hear Louis' disapproving tone before he even walked through the door with the new dog in his arms. He was sitting on the couch with his laptop while Pongo laid at his feet gnawing on a bone when Harry walked in.

Louis glanced back at him and let out a chuckle that was a cross between amused and irritated when he saw what was in Harry's arms.

"Another one? Bloody hell, Harry."

"What?" Harry said with a grin as he put the dog down and let her start wandering around the flat. "Pongo needed a mate."

"Oh?" Louis replied incredulously as he eyed the pink collar around her neck. "And what's her name? Perdita?"

Harry looked down at the ground, biting back his grin while Louis sighed heavily.

"You've got to be fucking joking."

"What? Like I said, Pongo-"

"Needed a mate, yeah, I'm sure." Louis heaved another sigh and turned back to his laptop. "So what's his name, then?"

"He's a she, and you just said it." Harry chuckled as he leapt over the back of the couch and landed next to Louis. "You're getting forgetful, old man."

"Sod off," Louis said as he swatted Harry's hand away from his cheek. "I _meant_ , what's the name of the bloke you're trying to impress by adopting every dog in the city?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Louis knew immediately that Harry was lying, because he wouldn't look him in the eye and his cheeks were growing darker with each passing second.

"I'm sure," Louis replied, still giving Harry a suspicious look. "Didja at least have a proper meeting this time around?"

"Yeah," Harry answered as he pulled the papers Niall had given him from his jacket pocket. "These are for you."

Louis grunted as Harry tossed them into his face, resisting the urge to smack Harry upside the head with them. He looked them over, acutely aware of the way Harry was chewing on his bottom lip, tapping his fingers on the back of the couch and shifting his eyes around the apartment. Louis cleared his throat as he turned the page, deftly kicking Harry's knee with his foot to make him sit still.

"Ow," Harry whined. "That was uncalled for."

"Go look after your dogs and stop bothering me with your incessant twitching."

"D'you reckon they'll have puppies?" Harry asked with a cheeky smile as he lifted himself off the couch, snatching Pongo off the ground and into his arms as he went to find Perdita.

"Harry, I swear if you brought home unneutered dogs I will neuter you!" Louis yelled at Harry's back, only getting a high-pitched cackle in return.

Louis shook his head and grumbled to himself as he went back to going over the paperwork Harry had given him. The numbers seemed to match up with what he'd expected, and Niall had been very conscientious with all the records he'd provided. All in all, Louis' work was more or less done for him so he put the papers aside and continued the work on his laptop.

He loved working for the Styles' company, even if he had to put up with Harry's antics both at work and at home. He'd been trying to get Harry to go back to school for business so that he'd have a better understanding of everything when he eventually decided to take over the company once and for all, but he'd been fighting that losing battle for the better part of a year.

Louis was proud of the way Harry had reformed since his parents' deaths, but he could still sense his wild side threatening to reappear every so often. As much as he loved Harry and cared deeply about his wellbeing, he didn't want to have to be the one to pick up the pieces if Harry fell back into old habits.

So even if it meant adopting a few new pets, Louis was going to take Harry's interest in the shelter as a good omen. If there was an ulterior motive to this whole endeavor, Louis could at least hope that it was for someone with some common sense.

*

The next morning Louis woke up to two dogs licking his face and as he rolled over, he cursed Harry loudly.

"Why's it my fault?" Louis opened his eyes, not expecting Harry to be in his room as well.

"Because you brought these dogs home, that's why it's your fault." Louis groaned as he tried to push Pongo and Perdita away from his face. They took to licking his hand instead and he glared at Harry.

"But they're so cute! And they love you."

Louis sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes with the hand that hadn't been covered in slobber. "Why are you in my room?"

"Because I forgot to tell you something yesterday."

"And what's that?" Louis groaned.

"I said we'd drop by the shelter again today for more business type things," Harry mumbled as Louis groaned again.

"Christ, Harry, I don't have time today. D'you know how many meetings-"

"I'll come with," Harry interrupted and Louis stared at him. Harry had never, not once, offered to come to the office with him. Even despite Louis asking him over and over to come to board meetings since it was _his_ company after all.

"You'll what?" Louis said when he finally found his voice.

"I'll come with," Harry repeated. "Besides, going to the shelter is technically work so it's not like you'd be skipping out to do nothing."

"That's not-" Louis shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighed deeply. He knew it was a futile effort to argue with Harry, because Harry always got his way in the end. "Alright, fine."

Harry cheered, launching himself onto Louis' bed amidst the disheveled blankets and two small dogs. Louis yelped when Harry's body connected with his own, sending them both down into the mattress while Pongo and Perdita started barking in excitement.

"You're a menace," Louis croaked under Harry's weight.

"You love me," Harry replied as he pressed a kiss to Louis' cheek. Louis pushed him away, grumbling under his breath about pushy roommates and slimy mutts.

"I feel like this is going to be a 'Bring Your Child To Work' day gone horribly wrong," Louis mumbled as he rose from the bed while Harry stretched out on it, pulling both of the dogs to him.

"Does this mean I can't call you Daddy?"

"Get out."

*

Liam wasn't waiting for Harry to show up. He'd put the very thought as far out of his mind as possible, but Niall wasn't making it very easy. He just kept going on and on about how lucky they were to get Harry's help and how lovely he'd been the day before.

"Niall, for Christ's sake," Liam interrupted, pausing in his work as he looked up at the blonde boy in front of him. "You're starting to sound like Zayn."

"Oi, I take offense to that," Niall said with a huff. "I'm grateful for his help, I don't want to blow the guy."

"Could've fooled me," Liam replied with a smirk. Niall rolled his eyes as he slumped down into the chair across from Liam.

"You're a bit of a bastard, you know that?" Niall quipped, giving Liam a small smile when he saw the corners of Liam's mouth twitch upwards.

"Got to keep up with you, haven't I?" Niall chuckled good-naturedly as he leaned forward on the table between them, lacing his fingers together.

"Honestly, though, what's got your knickers in a twist? Didja not like him?"

"It's not that," Liam mumbled. "It's just-" he cut himself off and sighed before he shook his head. "S'not important."

Niall clucked his tongue. "You like him."

"You're a fuckwad," Liam answered, refusing to meet Niall's eyes.

"But you love me." Niall grinned. "And you like him."

"I don't even know him," Liam replied with a slight shake of his head.

"Nor do I, but he seems like a good enough lad."

"Sure." Liam sighed, trying to concentrate on his work and forget they were even having this conversation.

"Can't judge a book by its cover, Liam."

"I'm not." Liam finally lifted his eyes to meet Niall's. "I'm just saying there's no need to get to know the book if it's going back on the shelf for someone else."

"You've lost me," Niall admitted with a laugh and Liam groaned.

"All I'm saying is, Harry will write us a check, smile for the cameras, and then bugger off and we'll never see him again. As grateful as I am for his help, I just don't trust him."

"You make it sound like he's a druglord or summat." Niall couldn't contain his laughter and Liam rolled his eyes.

"Just don't get attached, Nialler." Liam stood up, deciding he'd had enough of Niall's laughter and he'd finish his work in his office where he could lock the door behind him.

"Once again, I think you're confusing me with Zayn!" Niall called after him.

*

By the time all the meetings had finished, Harry was so eager to get to the shelter that he was practically shaking. Although the numerous cups of coffee that he'd had over the last few hours weren't helping matters either.

"No more," Louis said as he yanked the mug out of Harry's hands, despite his protests. "You won't sleep tonight as it is."

"Can we go yet?" Harry whined. "I wanna go."

"You were the one who said you'd come to the office with me." Louis shook his head. "It's not my fault you're bored."

"I just don't see why we can't go now and come back here after." Harry huffed, collapsing onto Louis' desk and scattering his papers.

"As if you'd want to come back here after visiting your precious shelter." Louis smirked. "Why do you want to go there so badly, anyway?"

"No reason," Harry muttered, tapping his foot on the ground wildly. Louis grabbed a fistful of Harry's hair and picked his head off the desk.

"Don't lie, Harold." He let go and Harry pulled away sharply, rubbing the spot on his head where Louis' hand had been a minute before.

"Rude," Harry snapped. "I don't manhandle you."

"You've tried." Louis smirked again. "Didn't work."

"Louis," Harry whined louder, jutting out his bottom lip in a pout as he stared at Louis with begging eyes. Louis tried not to let it get to him, but he had a soft spot for Harry's puppy eyes and Harry knew it.

"Ten more minutes." Harry cheered. "Then we'll go."

Louis hadn't thought it possible, but Harry was even _more_ jittery on the way to the shelter than he had been before they'd left the office. Louis finally grabbed a hold of Harry's knee to make him sit still, and Harry's head whipped around to look at him.

"What?"

"I should ask you the same question," Louis replied. "Nervous?"

"No," Harry said quickly. "Why would I be nervous?"

"I don't know." Louis chuckled. "Why are you?"

"I'm not." Louis rolled his eyes. "I'm _not_."

"We'll see about that," Louis mumbled under his breath.

They arrived at the shelter shortly after, and Harry was so preoccupied with the idea of seeing Liam again that he forgot about the boy behind the front desk. As soon as they walked in, Harry's eyes met with Zayn's and he froze.

"Back so soon?" Zayn said with a light chuckle. Louis snickered behind Harry, and it took every fiber of Harry's being not to punch him below the belt.

"We have some, uh-" Harry cleared his throat, trying to avoid the way Zayn was staring at him like a piece of meat. "More business questions for Niall and, ahem, Liam."

"Right," Zayn answered as he raised his eyebrow. Harry heard Louis snicker again as Zayn picked up his phone and pressed it against his ear.

"Shut up," Harry grunted, but Louis kept snickering.

"Leeyum," Zayn purred into the phone. "You've got visitors. Cute ones."

Louis clapped his hand over his mouth to stifle his cackle, and Harry elbowed him in the chest. Zayn smiled cheekily as he hung up his phone and nodded his head towards the door behind him.

"You can go on back."

"Thanks," Harry replied through gritted teeth as he tugged on Louis' arm, leading him past Zayn and deliberately ignoring the fact that Zayn's eyes followed him as they passed by.

"Now I know why you were so eager to get here," Louis whispered into Harry's ear.

"Shut up," Harry repeated, trying to resist the urge to punch Louis. It didn't work, in the end, and Louis ended up on the floor. Harry felt much better.

*

Liam rolled his eyes at Zayn's tone when he called to say Harry was at the front desk. He'd known Zayn long enough to know exactly how he was eyeing Harry at that moment, and Liam really didn't feel like seeing that.

"Send them back," he said quickly before he hung up. He opened the door to his office and called Niall's name.

"Yeah, mate?" Niall appeared in his doorway a minute later and Liam sighed.

"Your boy's here. I'm up to my ears in paperwork so I'll leave you to it."

"Right." Liam could tell from Niall's tone of voice that he didn't really believe him, but Liam wasn't in the mood to argue.

"I'll be here if you absolutely need me," he said as he turned back to his desk.

"Oh, I'm sure Harry will." Niall smirked and Liam threw the pen in his hand at Niall, who flinched when it connected with his chest. "Dick."

"Bugger off." Niall gave him the finger but left him alone, although he didn't close the door behind him. Liam groaned softly as he stretched out his leg, kicking the door closed with his foot and sighing in relief when it clicked shut.

The truth was, he'd finished most of his paperwork hours ago but had been hiding out in his office for most of the afternoon. He'd had enough of Niall's teasing him about Harry, and normally when Niall was bugging him he'd go hang out with Zayn, but Liam didn't feel like doing that either.

So for the past few hours, Liam had been doing a bit of research on Harry Styles. He reaffirmed most of the things he already knew, but he found a few articles about him from a few years before that gave him some new insight. Most of them were from gossip sites and deep down Liam knew better than to trust them, but after three or four had the same story, it was getting harder for Liam to doubt them.

Just as he'd expected, Harry was the type of person to get what he wanted when he wanted it. Liam had never had that luxury, he'd worked extremely hard for everything he had and he was quite proud of it.

But then he started thinking about the day before and all the looks he'd caught Harry giving him. And then there was the way Harry walked when Liam was behind him, and there was no doubt in his mind that Harry had been putting on a bit of a show.

It's not that Liam lacked self-confidence. He was aware that he was quite attractive to both men and women, and he had used that knowledge to his advantage a number of times. He just didn't let himself trust people very easily, and sometimes that made him come off as skittish and insecure.

Liam heard Niall's voice and Harry's laugh from the other side of his office door and he quickly shut his laptop. He sat for a moment, tapping his fingers on his desk absentmindedly as he came to a decision in his head.

If Harry really wanted to play a game, then Liam would play along. He just wouldn't let Harry win.

Liam opened the door to his office suddenly, only half-expecting to see Niall and Harry on the other side. They both immediately stopped talking, and it was then that Liam realized there was another boy standing with them.

"Liam Payne," he said, extending his hand to him as he ignored Harry staring at him.

"Louis Tomlinson." They shook hands and Louis smiled. "Quite the place you've got here."

"S'alright. As long as I put up with Niall it's not half bad."

"Oi, what did I say yesterday?" Niall objected. "Stop taking the piss, yeah?"

"Niall's sensitive," Liam remarked to Louis with a smile. He finally looked at Harry, relishing when his eyes widened. "Nice to see you again."

"You-" Harry croaked, clearing his throat quickly. "You too."

Out of the corner of his eye, Liam noticed Louis' mouth twitch upwards in a smirk as he raised his eyebrow. Niall resumed their earlier conversation, pulling Louis and Harry along while Liam decided to tag along.

When they passed by the room with all the dogs, Louis grabbed Harry's arm and prevented him from going in.

"Absolutely not."

"Oh, come on," Harry whined.

"How's the pup?" Liam asked and Louis let out a laugh.

"Which one? Pongo or Perdita?" Louis looked at Harry as he mentioned the names, but Harry stared at the ceiling.

"They're both lovely, thank you for asking." Liam chuckled softly as Harry's cheeks turned pink and Louis rolled his eyes.

"You're not allowed to let him adopt any more dogs, got it?" he said, looking at both Liam and Niall.

"Scout's honor," Niall replied with a salute. Louis looked at Liam and he nodded in response, already having taken a liking to him. Liam knew who Louis was in correspondence to Harry, and in his mind he was thinking if Louis could give Harry this much shit and get away with it, then they were going to get along very well.

Louis steered the conversation back to business with Niall, the pair of them continuing along the corridor as Harry and Liam slowly followed.

"Pongo and Perdita, eh?" Liam teased softly, taking joy in the way Harry groaned and averted his eyes.

"So I've got a soft spot for Disney," he mumbled in response. "G'head, make fun."

Liam clucked his tongue, and Harry braced himself for any number of jokes to be made at his expense. But instead, Liam chuckled lightly and said "My first pet was an orange cat named Oliver."

Harry turned his head to look at Liam, but he'd already started walking to catch up with the other two. Harry smiled to himself as he jogged to catch up, wondering what other things he could possibly get Liam to say about himself.

He didn't get a chance to ask, for Louis began to monopolize Liam's time with questions. Harry couldn't help but glare at the back of Louis' head, quickly switching to a cheeky smile whenever he turned around.

"Right, well everything seems to be in order," Louis finally said and Harry had heard that enough times to know that meant Louis was getting ready to leave. "Niall, Liam, lovely to meet the both of you and we'll be in touch soon, yeah?"

"Yeah, sounds great." Niall shook Louis hand and smiled warmly. "Thanks so much, again."

"Thank Harry," Louis said with a chuckle as he shook Liam's hand as well. "I just make sure he doesn't make a mess of things."

"You and I have that in common," Liam remarked as he nodded his head towards Niall. Louis laughed loudly while Niall protested, and Harry found himself gazing fondly at the smile on Liam's face.

Out of the corner of his eye, Louis noticed how Harry was staring and he discreetly rolled his eyes at the display.

"Well, we'd best be off." He clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder as he started to walk back towards the entrance of the shelter. "Say goodbye, Harold."

"Yeah, alright, _Daddy_ ," Harry replied sarcastically. "See you 'round, lads."

Niall replied with a similar tiding of goodbye while Liam simply nodded curtly. Harry paused, itching to say something more but Louis' hand closed around his wrist and pulled him away.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Niall caught Liam in a headlock and chuckled menacingly as Liam tried to get out of his grip.

"Y'know, I've met some pricks in my time, but you're a fucking cactus."

"Love you too, Niall."

*

"No wonder you want to spend so much time there," Louis cackled once they got back to their flat. Harry rolled his eyes, wondering why Louis had waited so long to start making fun of him, he knew it had been coming from the second they left the shelter.

"Shut up."

"The boy behind the desk was quite fit," Louis continued with a smirk. "As was Niall, but you're usually not into Irishmen. And then there was Liam…"

Harry didn't respond but Louis was watching him carefully, and he noticed how the corner of his mouth twitched upwards the second he mentioned Liam. The smirk on Louis' face remained as he bent down to pick up Perdita before turning back to face Harry.

"Suddenly Perdita here is making a lot more sense to me," he remarked casually.

"Dunno what you're on about," Harry replied, still avoiding Louis' eyes.

"Right. So you _didn't_ adopt her just to strike up a conversation with Liam?"

"No!" Harry exclaimed. Louis raised his eyebrow and Harry groaned. "Not entirely."

"I knew it," Louis laughed. "Can't get anything past me."

"Sod off," Harry snapped as he took Perdita from Louis' arms and slumped down on the couch, burying his head in her fur. Pongo waddled over to nose against Harry's legs and let out a soft whine before Harry leaned down and helped him up onto the couch next to him.

Louis let out a soft breath as he looked at Harry fondly, walking closer to the couch and gently running his hands through Harry's hair. At first, Harry tried to pull away from Louis' touch but gave in without too much protest.

"Haven't seen you like this in a while, Haz."

"Haven't felt like this in a while," he replied, slightly muffled with his face against Perdita still. Louis chuckled softly and ruffled Harry's hair.

"You're a prat. Liam's too good for you, anyway."

"Hey!" Harry protested. "You only just met him, you can't know that!"

"I know you," Louis replied. "And Liam's too good for you."

"Some best mate you are," Harry grumbled.

"Just being honest, love." Louis snickered softly as he pulled his hand back from Harry's head and walked towards the kitchen. "Any ideas for dinner?"

"Nah," Harry called back as he looked down at the dogs in his lap. "Think I may take the pups for a walk."

Harry didn't have to look at Louis, he could _hear_ his eyes roll as he answered, "Alright."

It took around half an hour for Harry to manage to get both leashes on the dogs, mostly because Louis refused to help but instead sit, watch, and laugh. Every time Harry cursed him for not helping, Louis simply replied "they're your dogs."

Louis knew exactly where Harry was going to go on his "walk", even if Harry didn't know it himself just yet. Walking Pongo and Perdita together, by himself, turned out to be a bit harder than Harry had expected it to be. Any normal person probably would've turned around after a block or two and begged Louis to come with, but Harry wasn't about to do that.

Just as the sky started to turn dark, Harry found himself walking down the street where the shelter was located. Both Pongo and Perdita started trying to run down the street, their noses catching the familiar scents of the shelter and Harry started to laugh as he tried to keep them under control.

Harry paused for half a second to try and wrap Perdita's leash around his wrist tighter when Pongo seized his opportunity to wrangle out of Harry's grasp. He cried out as Pongo took off down the street, hastily scooping Perdita into his arms as he scrambled after him.

Harry stopped just short of being hit with a swinging door, and Pongo was picked up by the person who'd opened it. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but immediately lost his voice when he saw the figure behind the door.

"So you must be Pongo," Liam said as he smiled at the dog in his arms. "I remember you."

"Liam," Harry choked out. "H-Hi."

"Didn't expect to see you again so soon," Liam replied, turning his smile to Harry.

"Thought they, um- needed to get out a bit," Harry chuckled as he tried not to stammer even more than he already was. "Y'know, after being cooped up in the flat all day."

"I can't imagine you having a flat that anyone would feel cooped up in," Liam remarked. Harry chuckled, putting Perdita back down on the ground before he looked at Liam again.

"You'll have to come by sometime, see it for yourself." Harry knew it was a cheesy line, but he liked the way Liam's eyes dropped and the smile that came along with the soft laugh.

"Think I'll settle for my own, thanks." Liam gently set Pongo back down and handed his leash to Harry.

"I-I didn't mean-" Harry began to stutter again as he took Pongo's leash back from Liam, who just stood there and smiled at him.

"Nice to see you again, Harry." Liam turned away and started to walk down the sidewalk, and Harry actually thought for a moment that he wouldn't be able to breathe ever again. But then Pongo whined and since Harry wasn't expecting it, he was able to once again pull his leash out of Harry's hand as he took off after Liam.

"Pongo!" Harry called out, causing Liam to turn around and laugh. He knelt down and picked up the leash, scratching Pongo behind the ears as Harry walked up with Perdita.

"Silly pup," Liam said softly as Harry bent down to pick up Pongo's leash again.

"He likes you." Liam chuckled as he stood up.

"Of course he does, I'm the one who rescued him." Liam looked down at Pongo fondly and Harry swore his entire body melted into a puddle right then and there.

"Really?" Harry swallowed harshly, trying to hide it with a chuckle. Liam looked at Harry and Pongo whined softly when Liam stopped paying attention to him. "That explains a lot, then."

"Yeah," Liam said as he dropped back down to his knees and petted Pongo's head. "Glad he's got a good home now. Even if his owner can't really handle him."

"I can too!" Harry protested. Liam looked up at him with an eyebrow raised and Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I just need a bit of practice."

"A lot of practice," Liam remarked.

"Or a bit of help?" Harry grinned and Liam started shaking his head as he stood up. "Pongo would love it. So would Perdita."

"And you?" Liam asked, holding back a smile. Harry shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and offered Pongo's leash to Liam.

"I'd be eternally grateful."

"Shouldn't Louis be the one helping you out?" Liam asked, hesitating on taking Pongo's leash from Harry.

"He said they're my dogs," Harry answered with a shrug of his shoulders, practically brandishing the leash under Liam's nose. Liam rolled his eyes but snatched the leash out of Harry's hand and sighed.

"All right. Quick walk around the park, yeah?" Harry grinned widely.

"Excellent."

They walked along in silence for a while, though Harry was aching for Liam to say something, anything. He felt a little silly, knowing full well that he could just start talking to fill the silence but he knew as soon as he opened his mouth he would just start spewing nonsense and risk making a fool out of himself.

So Harry kept his mouth shut, for his own sake. He kept his eyes on the dogs ahead of them, padding along and sniffing at every little thing they passed. Harry smiled when they would both stop to sniff around the same thing, and then end up sniffing each other and yip happily before continuing on.

"They're cute together," Liam piped up. Harry's heart skipped a beat, but he did his best to keep his voice calm as he answered.

"Yeah, they're a good match."

"So are you." Harry turned his head to look at Liam, snickering softly as Liam cursed under his breath. "I meant you and the dogs."

"Oh," Harry replied, biting his lip to keep his smile at bay. "You said you rescued Pongo, right? From where?"

"A puppy mill, just outside the city." Liam's voice turned steely, and Harry saw him tense up and grip Pongo's leash a bit tighter. "I'd heard about them, but hadn't ever seen one before. It was awful."

"I can't even imagine," Harry said as he looked down at Pongo, who was still prancing along happy as ever. "He doesn't seem too traumatized, though."

"He was young enough when we found him that we saved him before they could do too much damage," Liam replied. "Can't say the same for most of the other pups, though."

"That's horrible," Harry remarked with a sigh. "What about Perdita?"

"She was a surrender." Liam's face brightened a bit as he looked down at her. "Her mother's owner was too old to handle all the puppies."

"Well then I consider myself lucky," Harry said, turning his head to smile at Liam. "I've got two amazing pups to take care of."

"That you do," Liam replied with a similar smile. "And you'd better take good care of them."

"Of course I will!" Harry said, faking a look of astonishment. "As if I'd ever do anything to hurt them."

"Just making sure." Liam chuckled. "I'd hate to have to get Niall to smack you around."

"I'd let you smack me around," Harry mumbled under his breath, immediately freezing when he realized he'd said it aloud. He peered at Liam out of the corner of his eye, praying he hadn't heard.

Liam had, of course, but he chose to pretend that he hadn't. He turned away from Harry, hiding his smile as he looked down at Pongo. Whatever game they were in the middle of playing, Liam felt as though Harry wasn't used to losing.

Harry was never going to be the one to admit defeat, not even when he probably should. He was ever hopeful that things would work out the way he wanted them to, and he was usually right.

"So," Harry piped up after a few minutes of silence. "You're a veterinarian, you rescue animals, what do you do in your spare time? Save children from burning buildings?"

"Nah, that's like, a typical Tuesday afternoon." Liam chuckled.

"So you're like, a saint, then." Harry smiled. "A proper one. Saint Liam."

Liam shook his head. "I'm no saint. Too much pressure."

"Well, I'd worship you." Unlike the last time, Harry meant to say that aloud. He knew it was cheesy but he hoped it would make Liam laugh.

"You're trying awfully hard to flatter me," Liam replied with a soft laugh. Harry smiled at the sound as he looked down at the dogs.

"Is it working?" Liam didn't answer, he shrugged his shoulders and turned his head away from Harry to hide his smile. "Strange, flattery usually gets me everywhere."

"I'm sure it does," Liam said under his breath.

"Not that I'm trying to- I mean, I just-" Harry stuttered and Liam couldn't hold back a laugh. It was far too amusing to see Harry go from being so confident and cool to a bumbling fool in no less than ten seconds.

"C'mon, pups," Liam said as he started to pull Pongo back in the direction they'd come. "Time to head back before your da dies of embarrassment."

Harry shook his head as he followed Liam's suit and tugged on Perdita's leash to get her to come along as well. He lagged behind Liam a bit, trying to get a grip on his thoughts so he didn't continue to make a fool of himself.

They remained silent until they were in front of the animal shelter, and Liam was handing over Pongo's leash.

"Try not to let him get away again, yeah?"

"I'll do my best. He's a strong little bugger," Harry replied with a chuckle as he wrapped the leash around his wrist several times.

"He just needs a firm hand," Liam offered. Harry immediately bit his tongue, willing himself to neither say nor get a mental picture of the dirty thoughts that came to his mind. He nodded in response to Liam's statement, and Liam smiled. He went to turn away from Harry, assuming he wasn't going to say anything else.

"Same time tomorrow?" Harry blurted out. Liam turned slowly, letting out a deep breath before he looked at Harry.

"I dunno, mate. You seem nice and all, but-"

"I just thought-" Harry interrupted, "y'know, since we're going to be working together, that it might be nice to get to know each other."

Liam chuckled softly, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he looked away from Harry. He hadn't expected him to say any of that, and Liam wasn't sure if he believed that Harry was going to be around long enough for them to get to know each other.

"We'll see," he said after a few minutes of silence. Harry was full of surprises, because Liam did not expect his face to break out into a grin.

"Excellent," he replied before he started to walk down the street with Pongo and Perdita. "See you tomorrow!"

Liam opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again once Harry's back was turned. There really was no reasoning with him, as Liam was starting to find out. Liam shook his head, chuckling to himself as he started walking in the opposite direction.

*

The following morning, Harry followed Louis to the office again. At first, Louis thought that maybe this was a sign that Harry was starting to take an interest in the business, but after only an hour it became clear what Harry was really doing.

He wanted to vent. About Liam.

Louis tried to ignore him, he really did. But Harry had this ridiculous pitch to his voice when he started whining that just made him impossible to ignore. What made the situation even more irritating for Louis was the fact that Harry was sprawled out on the couch in his office and asked absolutely _everyone_ who came in what their opinion was on his love life.

"…he's got these eyes that just, _ugh_ when he looks at me with those incredible eyes I just lose all train of thought and-"

" _Harry_ ," Louis interrupted, giving him a stern look and motioning for his assistant to leave the office. She snickered softly before slipping through the door and closing it behind him while Harry slowly sat up, looking warily at Louis.

Louis rubbed his eyes and sighed heavily before he looked at Harry. In all the years he'd known him and especially in the last few, he'd never felt less like a friend and more like an irritated father than he did in that moment.

"You are driving me up the wall. If you insist on hanging 'round the office, you _have_ to act professional, yeah?"

"I can do that," Harry said as he adjusted his position on the couch, sitting normally with this hands tucked in his lap. Louis fought the urge to laugh at the sight, burying his head in his hands.

"Harry," he groaned, and Harry just smiled. "You and your Nicholas Sparks novel love life are going to be the death of me."

"My love life is not a Nicholas Sparks novel!" Harry gasped and Louis rolled his eyes.

"Maybe not yet, because someone usually dies." Louis turned his eyes back to his work as he continued, "but I swear if you say one more thing about Liam, I will kill you."

Harry mimed zipping his mouth shut even though Louis wasn't looking, but hardly a minute passed before he opened it again.

"His _hands_ though, not to mention the size of his shoes and you _know_ what they say about-"

"OUT. NOW."

*

Liam was having the same sort of day as Louis, though he had numerous patients to deal with on top of not one but _two_ lovesick mates. Zayn was constantly wandering around whining about some bloke he'd met at a club the week before who still hadn't called, while Niall was all smiles and giggles but wouldn't tell Liam who he was so keen on. It was downright distracting, knowing one of your best friends was smitten with someone but would only talk in riddles.

"Look, if you're going to insist on mooning over whoever, the least you could do is tell me who it bloody is," Liam snapped once his most recent patient left with its owner.

"No, you'll poke fun!" Niall replied. Liam rolled his eyes and shoved Niall out of the room.

"Then leave me alone!"

"But Leeyum!" Niall whined. "I don't know what to do! I have to see hi- _them_ again."

"So call _them_ ," Liam retorted in an annoyed tone. He'd caught the pronoun slip, but was going to play along until Niall broke down and came clean.

"They'll think I'm mad!"

"You are mad."

" _Leeyum_ you're not helping." Niall huffed. "Didja have a bad date with Harry or summat?"

"What?" If Liam had been holding something expensive, it most certainly would've dropped out of his hands as he froze upon hearing Niall.

"Zayn told me," Niall said with a grin, "about your little romp around the park with Harry. Didn't think you had it in you, mate."

"I helped him walk Pongo. That's all."

"That's not what it looked like," Zayn piped up, appearing from nowhere. Liam sighed heavily, cursing Zayn under his breath.

"You're one to talk," Liam said. "You were drooling over him not two days ago."

"I was _appreciating_ him, like I do with every fit bloke who looks my way." Niall snorted and Liam rolled his eyes.

"He's good-looking, but he's not a piece of art, Zayn."

"Says the bloke who fancies him," Niall added.

"This is why I don't tell you two anything." Liam shook his head. "You can't keep a secret to save your lives."

Zayn and Niall both laughed as Liam pushed past them.

"And I _don't_ fancy him!" he called back over his shoulder.

"Sure, mate! Whatever you say!" Niall yelled back.

Liam grumbled under his breath as he made his way to the front of the shelter, hoping for a bit of peace and quiet. He stared at the floor the whole way there, immediately slumping into the chair behind the desk where Zayn _should_ have been. Liam held his head in his hands for about half a second before someone cleared their throat and he snapped his head up to see who it was.

"Hello," Harry said with a small wave, a smile creeping across his face.

"Bloody hell," Liam muttered under his breath as he stood up. "What're you doing here?"

"Well," Harry said as he stood up, pulling Pongo and Perdita with him. "These two wouldn't stop talking about you until I agreed to bring them 'round."

"Is that so?" Despite his awful day and the fact that he really didn't have time for Harry to be popping in, Liam couldn't help but smile. He walked around the desk and got down on his knees to greet Pongo and Perdita, who happily covered him with dirty paw prints and sloppy kisses.

"Absolutely," Harry went on. "All day it's been 'Da, when are we seeing Liam again? We love Liam, he pets us and takes us for walks!' It's a bit mad, really."

"Sure you're not putting words in their mouths?" Liam said with a slight smirk as he looked up at Harry. The smallest tinge of pink appeared in Harry's eyes as his eyes darted away from Liam's and he fought a smile.

"Dunno what you're on about," he mumbled. Liam chuckled as he stood up, still petting Pongo and Perdita as they stood on their hind legs to reach his hands.

"Well it was nice to see you and the pups again, but I need to get back to work." Liam took a step back and it was almost like all three of them started whining at the thought of Liam leaving so soon.

"Can't you take a break?" Harry asked. "I can put in a good word with your boss," he offered with a smile.

Liam shook his head, trying to ignore the part of his mind that was aching to go along with them. He was usually far more sensible than this, and it was starting to annoy him a little that Harry didn't seem to understand the concept of having actual responsibilities. It was endearing, in a way, but there was also something about it that Liam just couldn't let go.

"Harry, this is my work. I can't just blow it off for a couple hours."

"I get it," Harry said, his demeanor switching from bouncy and excited to demure in a matter of seconds. Liam sighed heavily, wondering if this was another one of Harry's tricks to get him to agree.

"I'll wait for you, then." Harry stepped back and sat down on one of the chairs behind him, the two dogs curling up at his feet once he was settled.

"That's not-" Liam groaned softly but didn't have any other reason to object. "It could be a while."

"I don't mind," Harry replied with a soft smile, his cheery disposition returning. "I'll wait."

Liam shook his head, choosing not to say anything more to Harry before he disappeared through the door. He passed by Zayn on the way back to his office, not responding when he called Liam's name.

"This day will be the death of me," he grumbled as he shuffled into his office, shutting the door behind him.

*

A few hours later, Liam jumped at a sound he had _never_ heard before, that was now echoing through the halls of the shelter. He opened his office door and peeked out, realizing that it was Niall who was making the racket.

"What was that unearthly sound you just made?" he asked as Niall came sweeping by with a huge smile on his face.

"I'm happy, mate, don't ruin it!" Niall said as he cupped Liam's face briefly as he passed by.

"Thrilled to hear it, but keep it down, yeah?" Liam rolled his eyes and wheeled himself back into his office, pushing his door closed.

Before it clicked shut, a foot wedged its way in and Liam looked to see Niall now standing in his doorway with that same smile.

"Today is the best day of my life!" he said as he swept into the office, collapsing into the chair near Liam's desk.

"You've said that about a lot of days," Liam replied as his phone rang. He picked it up, not bothering to say hello because he knew it was Zayn.

"Niall there?"

"Yeah, he's here. Want me to pass the phone?" Zayn chuckled.

"Nah, just let him know that I can bloody well hear him up here and he'd better shut up before he makes an even bigger fool of himself in front of your _visitor_."

Liam couldn't help but start to laugh as Zayn hung up, tears in his eyes by the time he hung up his own phone. Niall looked at him oddly and Liam fought to catch his breath through his laughter. He'd actually managed to forget the fact that Harry was waiting for him, and now the whole situation was even more hilarious.

"Didja know that Harry's out front?" Liam asked.

"No…" Niall answered as the smile fell from his face and he went pale. Liam started laughing harder as Niall buried his face in his hands.

"You prat! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"He's not here for you, don't worry," Liam replied though his laughter. Niall uncovered his face and gave him a strange look before it clicked in his mind.

"Oh, so he's here for _you_ , then?" Liam's laughter immediately ceased when Niall grinned at him, and he quickly looked away.

"He's mad," Liam mumbled. "Wants me to help him walk the pups again."

"Right. 'Walk the pups.' I'm sure." Liam threw his pen at Niall, who laughed.

"Shut it."

"What're you keeping him waiting for?" Niall asked. "You've been done with appointments for ages."

"Had some paperwork," Liam mumbled, and Niall rolled his eyes.

"You're avoiding him."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not." Before Niall could reply again, Liam sighed heavily. "It's all a game."

"A game you seem to enjoy playing." Niall chuckled. "Otherwise you would've told him to sod off by now."

"Thought you said I should be nice," Liam said as Niall stood up.

"This is you being nice?" Niall laughed. "You ought to try harder. Now get out of here, I've got a date to get ready for."

"So _he_ called, then?" Liam said with a smile. He caught Niall's eye and Niall turned away, blushing.

"Shut it. Go walk your pups." Niall slipped out of the door and Liam groaned.

"They're not my pups!"

Niall didn't answer, and Liam groaned again as he stood up and started clearing off his desk. There really was no reason for him to avoid Harry any longer, and he knew it. Part of him was hoping that he might've given up and left, but if Liam was honest with himself he knew Harry would never admit defeat so easily.

When he reached the waiting area, Harry was standing at the desk talking to Zayn. Pongo was in his arms while Zayn was holding Perdita, nuzzling her ears with his nose. Whatever they'd been talking about had to have been amusing because both of them were smiling and laughing, but they stopped when Liam appeared.

"Hi Liam!" Harry greeted him with a smile, striding over to hand him Pongo. "Ready for the walk?"

"Y-Yeah," Liam mumbled as he took Pongo from Harry, who walked over to Zayn to get Perdita. Liam pretended to busy himself with making sure Pongo's leash was on properly, but really he was trying to listen in on the soft conversation Harry and Zayn were having.

He was failing, though, and soon Harry turned around with Perdita in his arms and the same smile on his face. He led the way out the front door, and Liam followed him while giving Zayn a curious look.

"Have fun, Leeyum!" Zayn called after him, grinning as Liam gave him another odd look.

As they started towards the park, Harry began rambling but Liam wasn't paying any attention to what he was saying. For reasons unknown, Liam was annoyed that Zayn had been talking to Harry. He hadn't minded before, and it wasn't like Liam had some claim on Harry (not that he wanted one…really) but now it bothered him to no end.

"What were you and Zayn talking about?" He blurted, interrupting Harry and earning a quizzical look before a small laugh.

"You, actually." Harry smiled and Liam blinked.

"Me? Why?"

"Because I was waiting for you, and since you work with Zayn, I thought maybe he might be able to tell me more about you." Harry smiled again. "And I like talking about you."

"You're mad," Liam said with a light chuckle.

"So they say," Harry answered with a shrug. "You're not, like, upset or anything, are you?"

"Nah," Liam lied. It wasn't that he was truly upset, he was just feeling a little embarrassed about the whole thing. "Just don't believe everything he tells you."

Harry snickered. "Well then you'll have to start telling me more about yourself so I know what's true."

Liam chuckled softly, suddenly feeling much better. "Maybe I will."

*

Liam couldn't believe it, and certainly was not ready to admit it aloud, but he was starting to really enjoy spending time with Harry. The more time they spent together, the more Liam saw a side of Harry that wasn't shown in the papers or gossip magazines. That was the side that Liam really liked – and was maybe even falling for.

But he wasn't going to let Harry know. As far as the rational side of Liam's mind was concerned, this was still a game. And if Liam was destined to lose, then he was going to put up a hell of a fight.

"D'you wanna grab dinner?" Harry asked one night, as they were walking back to the shelter. They'd been taking walks every day for just over a week now, and Liam would be lying if he said he didn't spend every day looking forward to them.

"With you?" Liam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, with Pongo." Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, with me."

"Like a proper date?" Liam teased, knowing full well that Harry had been whining to Zayn that their walks hadn't been as date-like as Harry wanted them to be. If only Harry knew all the details that Zayn spilled to Liam, he'd never speak to Zayn again. Which is precisely why Liam was never going to say a word.

Harry froze for a moment, but recovered quickly enough to say, "Yeah. A proper date."

He braced himself for rejection, as Harry had been wanting to ask Liam out for the last few days but hadn't quite gotten the nerve until that night. Harry was hopeful for a yes, but wasn't expecting one.

"Sure. I'd like that."

Harry blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah," Liam answered with a smile. "Just has to be somewhere that the pups can go with us."

"Obviously," Harry replied quickly. "Absolutely. I'm sure we can- Yeah." He grinned, trying to stop himself from babbling more.

"So where do you want to go?" Liam asked, smiling partially because he was looking forward to having dinner with Harry, and partly because he really enjoyed the fact that he could turn Harry into a bumbling fool with just a few words.

*

Harry knew of a café a few blocks away with outdoor seating to accommodate Pongo and Perdita, and they walked there in a comfortable silence. At least, comfortable for Liam. Harry was itching to grab Liam's hand, though having to keep both on Perdita's leash vetoed any effort he would've made.

One day, Harry was going to be able to walk both of his dogs without Liam's help. But seeing as how Harry didn't actually ever want to walk his dogs without Liam's help, he wasn't really working towards that goal.

They were seated with a few empty tables between them and the other patrons who were enjoying their meals outside. Liam tied Pongo's leash to the leg of his chair, and then watched in amusement as Harry tried to do the same with Perdita's. After the third try and failure, he got up to help.

"Here, let me." Harry chuckled lightly as Liam quickly tied the leash and patted Perdita gently on the head.

"This is why I need to keep you around," Harry remarked with a smile as Liam settled back in his chair, lightly running his fingers through Pongo's fur.

"You are a bit hopeless with these pups." Liam's mouth quirked upwards in a smile as their waitress came over with menus.

"I just need more practice," Harry continued once she left them alone. "Good thing I have an excellent teacher."

Liam bit his lip to keep from smiling, though he couldn't help it once Harry caught his eye and winked. Liam could feel his guard coming down with each passing second, and for the first time since he met Harry he felt like that wasn't a bad idea at all.

The meal progressed as anyone would expect on a real first date. Liam actually started telling Harry about himself, about his family and how he'd met Niall and gotten involved with the shelter in the first place. Harry listened intently, and Liam couldn't help but marvel at the way Harry didn't once steer the conversation towards himself.

Liam also found himself telling Harry about the last relationship he'd been in, and how he'd thought everything was perfect until he discovered that the man he'd fallen for wasn't the person he thought he was at all. Liam didn't know why he was admitting all of this to Harry of all people, but there was something in the way that Harry looked at him, the way that he gently took Liam's hand when he felt as though he was about to cry, that made Liam think that he understood.

"I'll never understand people like that," Harry offered softly when Liam fell silent. "How someone can lie about practically everything just to get someone to fall for them, and then get all self-righteous about it like it was your fault for trusting them."

"Sounds like you might have some experience with it too," Liam said, trying to make a joke of it but the thickness of his voice gave him away.

"Story of my life," Harry replied with a hollow laugh. "People seem to think I'm one way and they have to act a certain way for me, and then it all crumbles."

Liam nodded, trying not to think about the fact that up until a few hours before, he had been doing just that.

"Well, I think you're loads better than anyone gives you credit for." Liam looked up at Harry with a small smile, to which Harry returned a similar one with a grateful look in his eyes.

"I feel the same about you."

Pongo whined softly and Liam broke their eye contact to glance down at the dog at his feet. He smiled fondly and reached down to scratch his ears as Harry broke off two bits of bacon from his half-eaten hamburger to feed to Pongo and Perdita.

"You shouldn't do that," Liam said with a light chuckle. "Begging for scraps is an awful habit."

"But look at their faces!" Harry cooed. "How can I say no to those faces?"

Liam rolled his eyes. "You never say no to anyone, do you?"

"I like making people happy," Harry replied with a smile. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Liam responded. "Nothing at all."

Harry insisted on paying the bill, despite Liam's numerous protests. He tried several times to snatch it from Harry's hand, but continued to fail because he wasn't about to make a spectacle of himself by crawling over the table.

"This way it's a proper date!" Harry said as he triumphantly put his credit card in the book and handed it back to their waitress.

"Yeah, well, don't go getting all handsy on me now that it's a proper date."

"Well that's no fun," Harry replied with a small frown. He caught Liam's eye and raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you've been thinking about _letting_ me get handsy?"

"Oh, shut up."

Somehow, Liam allowed himself to be talked into accompanying Harry, Pongo, and Perdita back to their flat. It may have had something to do with Harry suggesting they could watch The Dark Knight on his outrageously enormous TV, but Liam wasn't willing to admit it.

It may have also had to do with the fact that Liam wasn't quite ready for their first proper date to be over. He also may have been reconsidering letting Harry get a little handsy, because there was something in the way Harry walked that made Liam ache to hold him in his arms.

But, Liam wasn't going to say any of this. Changed opinion of Harry or not, he was still going to make Harry work for his affection.

Liam tried not to be in complete awe of the building where Harry's flat was, and Harry tried to brush it off as not being all that impressive. In reality, they were both terrible actors and they burst into laughter.

The laughter continued until they stepped through the front door and caught Louis in a rather compromising position. With Niall.

"Well, _this_ is an interesting development," Harry commented with a snide grin. Both Louis and Niall shot up from their spot on the couch, though Niall managed to knock over the bottle of wine that was sitting on the coffee table. Thankfully, it was empty.

"I'm- I'm gonna- yeah," Niall stammered, flustered from making a racket with the wine bottle on top of the embarrassment from being interrupted. "I'm gonna go."

"Yeah, uh-" Louis cleared his throat, putting on a pseudo-professional look as he shook Niall's hand. "Good meeting. I'll, uh, have my assistant, uh- y'know…"

"Right, yeah." Niall cleared his throat, trying not to meet Harry or Liam's eye. "Sounds good. G'night."

He side-stepped the couch and walked towards the door, snatching his coat off the hook on the wall as he finally looked at the pair standing before him.

"Liam. H-Harry." Niall's cheeks turned even redder as he quickly brushed past them and out the door. As soon as it shut behind him, Harry started clapping.

"Well done, mate." He smirked at Louis, who cleared his throat loudly but didn't say anything further before storming out of the room.

"Well, that was…" Liam trailed off, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "Unexpected."

"Fascinating, though." Harry snickered. "I've been wondering who Louis has been sneaking around with, y'know. He's usually so shit at this sort of thing."

"Yeah, well," Liam cleared his throat, and suddenly he felt extremely out of place. "I think I'm gonna go and, um, check on Niall."

"What?" Harry said as he turned to look at Liam, his face turning from amusement to disappointment in nothing flat.

"He looked a bit frazzled is all, and it's getting late, and I've got work in the morning so…yeah." Liam looked down at his shoes, unable to meet Harry's eyes when they looked so heartbroken.

"Okay," Harry answered softly.

"Tonight was fun," Liam offered. "I'll see you around, yeah?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, trying his best to brighten up. "Walk tomorrow, same time?"

"Yeah," Liam echoed before he turned to the door and let himself out. He took a few steps down the hall before he saw Niall, crouching on the floor near the elevator with his head in his hands.

He walked up to him and nudged Niall's ankle with his foot. He wasn't expecting it, so Niall toppled to the floor and stared up at Liam with a mix of surprise and anger.

"I'm so bloody embarrassed," he grumbled as Liam helped him up.

"You're like a sodding teenager." Liam laughed. "Let's get you home."

Back inside the flat, Harry corralled Pongo and Perdita into Louis' room where Louis was sprawled on his bed, face buried in his pillow. Harry laid down next to him and sighed loudly.

"Louis?" He grunted in response. "You're a twat."

*

The previous night made the following day rather awkward for all parties involved. Each time Liam would turn to Niall to ask him something work-related, Niall would automatically assume that Liam was going to say something about the night before.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I was just going to ask if you-" Liam sighed, no longer amused by this route Niall was taking. "Never mind, I'll ask Zayn."

The more Liam thought about Niall and Louis together, occasionally imagining far more than he wanted to, it got him thinking about what he and Harry were doing. This, of course, only led down a slippery slope of doubt and worry.

It was unusual for Niall to be secretive when it came to relationships, so Liam started to hate Louis a little bit to force Niall to hide whatever it was that they were doing. Niall was definitely a shout-from-the-rooftops kind of guy when it came to who he was involved with, and Liam actually really admired that.

He didn't know for sure, but there was a part of him that wondered if Louis was ashamed to be seen with Niall. As quickly as that thought came to him, Liam pushed it out of his head because it made him so angry that he couldn't bear having it around.

With all of the things he'd heard from Harry about Louis, he never would've expected it. But then the nagging voice in his head started raising all sorts of doubts, and Liam couldn't do anything about it.

_You don't know Louis at all._

_You don't even really know Harry either._

_They're just using you for their own benefit._

_You're a mark, only needed for some good press._

_Once the donation is made, you'll be forgotten about._

"Stop it!" Liam cried out, clutching his head. He opened his eyes and noticed that he'd made his way to Zayn's desk while he was lost in his own thoughts, and Zayn was looking at him like he was absolutely insane.

"You alright, Liam?" Zayn eyed him nervously. "You're looking a bit off."

"I'm fine," Liam snapped. A minute later he sighed heavily and pulled a chair over so he could sit down next to Zayn. "Just having a bad day."

"Seems to be a sickness 'round here," Zayn offered with a soft laugh. "D'you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Liam sighed again. "I came up here to ask you something, but now I can't remember what."

"Well, lemme know if you do." Zayn smiled before he turned his attention back to his textbook. Liam nodded his head even though Zayn wasn't looking at him, before burying his head in his hands and taking slow, deep breaths.

There was only one way to stop this madness. He had to break things off with Harry before they went any further. The only problem was, Liam had absolutely no idea how to do so.

The hours seemed to drag until Harry came stumbling into the shelter with Pongo and Perdita in tow. He greeted Zayn with a smile, spinning around to get the leashes untangled from his legs as the dogs wandered around.

Zayn chuckled lightly as he picked up his phone and called Liam to let him know Harry had arrived. Once he hung up, Zayn came around the desk and scooped up Perdita, giving Harry a bit of respite from trying to handle both dogs by himself.

Liam took his time in coming to meet Harry, running through possible outcomes in his mind with each step he took. He knew Harry wasn't going to take it well, but he would try with every fiber of his being to not hurt him.

"Hi Liam." Harry was beaming. Liam tried his best to smile in return, his heart already aching at the sight of how happy Harry was when he knew it wasn't going to last.

Liam couldn't actually bring himself to say anything for quite a while, though Harry seemed perfectly content to babble enough for the both of them. He started telling Liam about how Louis had acted that morning, but Liam was only half-listening.

He snuck a few glances at Harry as they walked, and each time he wished he hadn't. There was something electric about Harry's eyes when he smiled, and even more so when he looked at Liam. It made Liam's heart both swell and sink at the same time, because he knew he was about to break Harry's.

"Harry-" Liam said suddenly, throwing out his arm to stop Harry from walking. "We need to talk."

"Okay," Harry said in a surprisingly calm voice, turning his attention to Liam.

But Liam had lost his nerve. He stood there, frozen under Harry's gaze. His heart started pounding, and he frantically willed himself to say something, _anything_.

"Liam," Harry said softly, slowly moving closer to him. Liam didn't have to look Harry in the eyes to know what he was about to do, and no matter how loud he was screaming in his head to stop him, Liam couldn't do a damn thing.

Harry slowly leaned in, his smile never faltering and his eyes locked on Liam as he pressed his lips against Liam's in a hesitant kiss. Liam found himself kissing back, eyes fluttering shut for a moment as his brain shut off long enough for him to enjoy it.

But then that moment ended, and that negative voice was once again screaming so loud that Liam couldn't ignore it any longer.

"I can't-" he blurted out, pulling away from Harry.

"Sorry," Harry muttered quickly, nervously running his hands through his hair as he tried to keep a smile off his face. "I've just…wanted to do that for a while."

"Harry," Liam said with a deep sigh. "I can't do this."

"It's okay, we can take it slow-"

"No, Harry," Liam interrupted. " _I can't do this_."

"What-" Harry blinked furiously as he tried to wrap his head around what Liam was saying. "What do you-"

"This," Liam gestured to the two of them, even down to Pongo and Perdita, "whatever this is, I can't do it."

"What do you mean? Liam-"

"I mean it, Harry. I can't," Liam said firmly, finally looking Harry in the eyes. He stared him down, willing himself to keep it together as long as Harry was looking at him.

Harry's face roamed from one emotion to another before it finally settled on the one Liam was expecting: hurt. As much as Liam had tried to prepare himself, it hadn't done any good. His heart immediately shattered as Harry stared right back, the light that had been in his eyes mere minutes before having been extinguished almost instantly.

"Right." He cleared his throat, trying just as hard to keep himself together as Liam was. "S'fine. I'll just- just be on my way, then."

Harry shakily stretched out his hand, silently asking Liam to hand over Pongo's leash. Liam complied, desperately trying to ignore the way his skin burned when Harry's hand brushed against his for a split second.

They stood in silence, both suddenly determined to not look at the other, before Liam turned his back on Harry and quickly walked away. It wasn't until he was able to turn a corner that he allowed himself to take a breath, and his whole body was soon shaking with sobs as he forced himself to walk even faster to get away from the mess he'd just made.

*

Harry tried not to let it get to him, the fact that Liam didn't want him. He wasn't used to not being wanted, but he didn't want to be the stubborn, greedy child that cried when he didn't get what he wanted. People had been treating him that way his whole life and he didn't want to live up to it.

He couldn't even bring himself to tell Louis what happened, at first. Even after the awkward scene that had occurred when he and Liam walked in on Louis and Niall, Harry couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Louis so happy. He didn't want to be the one to ruin it just because he was miserable.

It didn't take long for Louis to realize something was wrong. Harry wasn't as quick to poke fun at him, and his characteristic grins were few and far between. It wasn't until Louis was actually in the flat around the time Harry normally would've gone for his walk that he figured out what was wrong.

"Shouldn't you be off?" he asked, glancing at the clock before looking back at Harry who was sprawled out on the couch. Harry grunted noncommittally in reply, keeping his eyes on the television before him even though he wasn't even paying attention to what was on the screen.

Both Pongo and Perdita were sitting near the door, whining softly as Louis walked around the couch and sat down near Harry's feet. He frowned as he looked back at the dogs and then to Harry.

"What's going on, Haz?"

"Nothing," Harry replied, still not looking at Louis. "Just don't feel like going out."

"You need to take the pups out, though. They need their exercise."

"You take them," Harry grumbled. "They're your dogs too."

"Harry," Louis said with a slight chuckle. "At this point, I'd say they're more Liam's than mine."

He'd meant it as a joke, but Harry certainly didn't find it funny. As far as he was concerned, Liam didn't want him or any part of his life, which included the pups.

"Harry?" Louis said softly, seeing the tears forming in Harry's eyes once Liam's name was mentioned. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Lou." Harry's voice cracked, but he turned on his side to try and hide from Louis. He pulled his hair into his face, wanting to cover his shame in feeling so rejected and hurt by someone he barely knew.

"Harry," Louis whispered, gently brushing the hair away from Harry's face and revealing the tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Go away," he moaned, burying his face in the pillow underneath his head. "Just go."

"I'm not going anywhere, Haz. You can talk to me."

"I don't want to talk about it, Lou." Harry's voice was muffled by the pillow, but he spoke loudly enough for Louis to hear him. "Leave me alone."

"Alright," Louis said, resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get much out of Harry at that point. "Call me if you need me."

Harry grunted again as Louis stood up, leaving him alone to wallow in his own misery. He had been planning on stopping by the office to hammer out the last few details for the event that weekend, but now Louis was thinking perhaps he should stop by the shelter instead.

He hadn't seen Harry this low in months, not since he finally started to accept the death of his parents. And that had only come after weeks and weeks of gentle jokes and Louis attempting to cook one too many times. Louis wasn't sure if that was going to work this time around.

Louis left the flat without another word to Harry, pulling out his phone and dialing Niall's work number once he was outside the building. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say, but Niall picked up quickly which didn't leave him much time to wonder.

"Niall Horan, at your service!" Louis snickered.

"What kind of services are you offering?"

"Louis?" Niall chuckled. "I'll have you know that during business hours, all of my services are 100% professional."

"What about after business hours?" Niall groaned softly before chuckling again.

"Is there a point to this call, Louis, or are you just trying to rile me up?"

"Yeah, um-" Louis took a deep breath. "Has- Has Liam been acting funny lately?"

"Liam?" Louis could hear the confusion in Niall's voice but he hoped that he'd just brush it off and answer the question. "Nah, he's just Liam. Same as always."

Louis sighed heavily, that was not the answer he'd been hoping for.

"Lou? You there?"

"Yeah, Ni, I'm here." Louis cleared his throat, making a quick decision in his head before he spoke again. "I'm coming 'round, can you ask Liam to stick around for me?"

"Sure," Niall answered, sounding even more confused than before. "See you in a bit, then."

"Yeah," Louis replied before hanging up. He didn't mean to be so short with Niall, but there were other things on his mind that were refusing to be ignored.

As he made his way towards the shelter, Louis began seething. He couldn't believe that Harry could be so broken up over something that obviously had to do with Liam, and Liam could just pretend like nothing happened.

If Liam thought that he could just break Harry's heart and get away with it, Louis was going to teach him a lesson. Nobody screwed with Harry except for Louis, mainly because Louis would never intentionally screw him over.

*

"What did you do?"

Liam glanced up at Niall, finding his unimpressed look rather amusing so he couldn't help but chuckle before he responded.

"What do you mean?"

"Louis just called to ask if you've been acting funny. Any idea why he'd do that?"

"None that I can think of," Liam replied, turning his attention back to his paperwork. It was a blatant lie and Liam hoped that Niall hadn't realized it. He'd been wondering if Louis was going to pay him a visit for the last week, and every day that he didn't show up made Liam a bit more nervous.

Liam had done well enough with not letting Niall know that anything had happened, mainly because he'd been avoiding all non-business talk with both him and Zayn. After the first day that Harry hadn't shown up for their afternoon walk, Zayn popped into Liam's office to ask him about it. Liam flatly refused to talk about it, and since then he'd made it a point to leave the shelter through the back exit to avoid more questions.

Niall was easier to blow off, mostly because he was oblivious to most things 99% of the time. Liam knew if he needed to, Niall would be there for him in a heartbeat. Maybe that's why he hadn't told him yet. Liam wasn't ready to admit that maybe it hadn't been the best decision in the world, and deep down he knew Niall would be the first person to call him on it.

Well, perhaps the second. Apparently, Louis was going to be the first.

Niall left his office, and Liam was alone for maybe five minutes before Louis came through the door, closing it behind him. Liam took a deep breath, having never seen Louis look even annoyed (apart from when dealing with Harry), let alone as livid as he looked at that moment.

"So. Are you going to tell me why Harry won't stop moping about our flat, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?"

Liam bit back a laugh, knowing there was nothing funny about the situation but the image of Louis trying to beat him up was rather hilarious.

"Dunno what you're on about," Liam answered, avoiding Louis' eye.

"I'm not even going to pretend I believe that," Louis replied as he sat down across from Liam. "I know it's nothing I've done, and surprisingly Harry doesn't have very many friends. So that leaves you, Liam."

"I already told you, I don't-"

"Don't lie to me!" Louis interrupted, his voice suddenly rising in volume. "I want to know what you've done, because I can't fix it until I know what's been done!"

"Louis, I-" Liam tried softly, but his words were failing him.

"I thought you were better than this, Liam." Louis shook his head. "I was skeptical at first, but I really-" He sighed heavily, and Liam did the same.

"Look, I didn't mean to hurt-"

"Yeah, well you obviously did." Louis shook his head again and let out a hollow laugh. "You'd think he'd be used to getting his heart broken by now. With all the shit he's been through, you'd think he'd stop letting people in."

Liam stayed silent, not knowing what to say that wouldn't make him burst into tears.

"And then you come along, and it starts all over again. Only this time, there was no warning. And here you are, pretending like nothing has bloody happened while Harry's at home in our flat with his heart ripped out!"

"Louis, I-"

"You should be feeling what he's feeling! You shouldn't be able to make it through the day! You-"

"You don't get to tell me what I _should_ be feeling!" Liam interrupted, now shouting at Louis like he'd been shouting at Liam. "Don't you think I feel awful? Don't you think that I'm in pain? Let me tell you, telling Harry that I can't be with him was one of the hardest things I've ever done, so don't tell _me_ how I can or can't act because frankly, it's none of your bloody business."

Louis stayed silent for a few minutes before uttering in a low voice, "it is my business. If it involves Harry, it is my business."

Liam buried his head in his hands, breathing shakily as he willed himself not to start sobbing again like the day he'd left Harry in the park.

"Look," Liam said, inhaling deeply as he lifted his head again to look Louis in the eye. "Just…tell him I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt him, and now…" he trailed off as he looked away. "I'm more unsure than ever about whether it was the right thing to do."

Louis kept his mouth shut, though Liam could tell his mind was in overdrive trying to process everything that he'd said. Strangely, it felt as though a weight had been lifted off of Liam's shoulders, even if his heart was still aching under it.

"You need to figure that out, mate." Liam looked at Louis, not expecting him to say anything more. "Because if you decide that it wasn't, then you need to make it right with Harry before it's too late."

Without another word, Louis got up and left Liam's office, leaving Liam alone with his thoughts. The same thoughts that had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

*

As the weekend drew closer, Liam's mind reeled with confusion. He knew he was going to see Harry on Saturday, and Louis would probably be glaring daggers at him the whole time. The more Liam thought about it, the more anxious he got.

He asked Niall if it would be okay if he skipped the event, and for a moment he thought that he could get away with not showing up. Then Niall answered.

"Are you out of your bleedin' mind?! Of course you have to be there!"

"Thought as much," Liam answered softly.

"It'll be fun, Liam. Don't worry so much!" Niall clapped him on the shoulder and Liam forced a laugh. Niall, however, was so distracted that he didn't notice Liam's lack of enthusiasm.

Liam spent most of Saturday morning hiding in his own flat, ignoring both Niall and Zayn's texts about the prep. Zayn was mostly complaining about having to help set up tables while Niall was making sure that Liam didn't forget to pick up his suit or what time he had to be there.

Liam hadn't slept well the night before, though it wasn't due to nerves. He'd spent most of the night actually trying to stay awake because every time he closed his eyes, his mind flashed back to a dream he'd had. About Harry. In a compromising position. In his own bed.

Even now, when Liam was just sitting on his couch and trying to concentrate on the movie he'd put on, his mind kept drifting back to his dream. _Not helping_ , he thought to himself as he shifted, his jeans starting to chafe him.

 _Just don't think about it_ , he told himself. _Don't think about it. Don't think about his lips, his skin, the way his eyes rolled into the back of his head when you-_

Liam groaned loudly, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wipe the images from his eyelids. Both his mind and his groin were now working against him, in ways he had never even imagined to be possible until that moment.

Liam didn't understand why his mind had suddenly turned on him. He hadn't even seen Harry in over two weeks and now he was dreaming about him? And to top it off, dreaming about things that hadn't even happened – and that probably wouldn't ever happened with the way things were between them.

The way Liam had made them, that is. Because he thought it was the right thing to do. But just as he'd told Louis, he was doubting that decision more and more with each passing day.

Feeling frustrated in more ways than one, Liam decided to take a cold shower in the hopes that it would clear his head. He willed his mind to stay blank as he shed his clothes and stepped under the stream of icy water. He shivered slightly, shutting his eyes as he tried to adjust to the temperature.

It worked for a while; his mind cleared and he took deep breaths as he reveled in forgetting his troubles for about ten minutes. Liam closed his eyes as he leaned forward, drenching his face and holding it under the shower head.

That's when he saw Harry's face again. He felt an involuntary twitch between his legs and he groaned softly as the dream once again entered his head. Suddenly he could feel Harry's hands on him, roaming over his skin as his lips traipsed across his neck.

He felt hot, even under the icy cold water that was beating down on him from above. Liam propped his left arm up on the wall near the shower head, leaning his head on it as his other hand slid down his body and gripped his erection.

Liam let out a soft moan that sounded suspiciously like _Harry_ as he began stroking himself, picturing Harry underneath him and moaning his name. Liam cursed loudly and started stroking faster, his whole body aching with need. Harry's face was so clear in his mind, it was as if he was actually there with him.

He could hear Harry's voice in his head, saying his name over and over with these breathy moans that Liam had never even heard but they sounded so perfect coming from Harry's mouth. He was overcome with the desire to hear them for real, to get Harry to make these sounds for him.

Liam's whole body shuddered as he came, moaning Harry's name loudly and panting through the aftershocks. He steadied himself with both hands on the wall in front of him, breathing heavily as he finally opened his eyes.

"Fuck," he whispered, his voice still breathy as his heartbeat steadied within his chest. He was surprised by the fact that he didn't feel ashamed about getting off to the mental image of Harry writhing underneath him. In fact, it was the first time in days where he felt absolutely nothing except for an overwhelming desire to see Harry.

*

Originally, Liam had planned on waiting until the last possible moment to head to the shelter. But after his shower, he was intent on getting dressed and out the door as soon as he could.

He arrived two hours before the event was scheduled to start, but nobody seemed to mind. Niall immediately roped him into helping Zayn put the finishing touches on the tables, for which Zayn was grateful.

"I've been going mad," he mumbled to Liam once Niall had walked away. "You'd think the bloody queen was going to show up tonight, the way he's been acting."

Liam snickered softly and Zayn caught his elbow, making Liam turn to look at him.

"You seem…different."

"Different?" Liam asked, giving Zayn an odd look as he pulled his arm back.

"Yeah, like…happy." Zayn chuckled lightly. "It's not a bad thing, it's actually nice. Like, back to how you used to be." Zayn chuckled again. "You've been a bit of a downer lately, Leeyum."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Liam muttered, feeling a slight twinge of pink spread across his cheeks. "Had a bad couple of weeks."

"Does this mean you've made up with Harry?" Zayn asked casually, hiding his smirk from Liam.

"Not yet," Liam replied, also hiding his smile. Zayn reached out his arm, this time patting Liam's shoulder lightly.

"Glad to hear it."

Liam turned away to hide the fact that he was full-on blushing now, and Zayn laughed softly behind him. The pair worked silently from then on, and Liam couldn't keep a smile off his face.

The few hours between when Liam arrived at the shelter and when everyone else started to show up went by so quickly that to Liam, he had been there for no time at all. He tried not to watch the door to see when Harry came in, but as time went on he was finding himself more and more distracted from every conversation he was a part of.

As it turned out, Liam didn't even need to keep an eye on the door because everyone knew the second Harry arrived. The press that had gathered immediately mobbed both him and Louis, shouting questions and taking pictures. Harry just smiled, posing for the photographers as Louis calmly repeated over and over that they'd give a formal statement later in the night.

Liam tried to catch Harry's eye, but it was nearly impossible to do what with the number of people between them. Niall had already gone over to them, formally welcoming them to the shelter and saying thank you probably about a hundred times in the span of two minutes.

Liam caught the subtle way that Louis' arm wrapped around Niall's waist for a moment when they posed for a photo, but to anyone else it would've looked perfectly platonic. Liam knew better, and he could see it in the way they looked at each other. He smiled as he watched them, and as his eyes flickered over to Harry he saw that he was smiling as well.

Despite having tried to get Harry's attention mere minutes before, Liam was still totally unprepared for Harry looking straight at him. His smile faltered for a minute, and Liam slowly raised his hand in a small wave and offered a smile in return before Harry looked away.

"Well, that's a start." Liam jumped at the sound of Zayn's voice in his ear, clutching his chest as he breathed heavily.

"Christ, don't do that!"

"Sorry, mate." Zayn laughed, and Liam knew he wasn't sorry at all. "Why haven't you gone over?"

"Don't think he wants me to," Liam answered, sneaking a look back at Harry who was now talking to some woman Liam didn't know. Zayn let out a soft sigh, patting Liam's shoulder as he had before.

"Guess I'll send him your way, then."

Before Liam could answer with a protest, Zayn was gone. As much as he wanted to talk to Harry, he still had no idea what he was going to say. Everything that he'd thought of had either been too weird or completely ridiculous.

He fought the urge to bolt for as long as he could, but as soon as Zayn reached Harry and leaned close to his ear, Liam found himself desperate to find a place to hide. Somewhere, anywhere, as long as it was out of Harry's line of sight.

Liam found solace near his office, though he would've preferred to hide inside. Unfortunately, he had locked it the previous night and neglected to bring his key along with him. He took a deep breath as he leaned against the door, closing his eyes as he let it out slowly.

"You're shite at hiding, y'know." Liam jumped for the second time that night, opening his eyes to see Niall standing before him with a grin.

"I'm not hiding," Liam retorted.

"Yeah, like I believe that." Niall snickered. "I saw you hightail it out of the other room!"

"So what if I did?" Liam mumbled. "Dunno why I'm even here."

Niall scoffed. "You seemed pretty excited to be here when I talked to you half an hour ago."

"That was half an hour ago," Liam replied, a bit pathetically if he was being honest with himself. Niall rolled his eyes and hooked his arm around Liam's neck, tugging him closer.

"C'mon, let's go rejoin the party and you can tell me what's happened between then and now."

Liam let Niall pull him back into the other room, half expecting them to be bombarded as soon as they reentered. Strangely, nobody seemed to notice they'd even been away.

"So," Niall said as he pulled Liam to an empty table and sat him down. "Talk."

Liam took a deep breath and glanced around the room. His eyes settled on Harry and Louis across the room, both deep in conversation with more people that Liam had never seen before. He felt a small pang of jealousy but tried not to show it on his face.

"How do you do it?" he asked, throwing Niall a bit off-guard.

"What d'you mean?"

"You and Louis. How do you do it?"

"Look, mate, if you're asking _me_ to explain the birds and the bees, then-"

"Shut it, twat." Liam let out a short laugh, throwing a light punch at Niall's shoulder. "You know what I mean."

Niall's eyes followed Liam's line of sight and a fond smile spread across his face when he looked at Louis. He turned back to Liam and shrugged his shoulders.

"Dunno. We just do."

"Wish it was that easy for me," Liam said softly as he tore his eyes away from Harry.

"I'm not saying it's easy," Niall said and Liam gave him a confused look. "Nothing's ever easy, Liam."

"But you-"

"I know what I said," Niall interrupted. "But what I meant was, we don't force anything. You know me, I let things happen as they're meant to."

"But…how?" Niall shrugged again.

"He's a cheeky bastard," Niall said with a laugh. "Some days I just want to smack him upside the head after every word he says. I'm sure he thinks the same of me, sometimes."

Liam nodded his head, staring at his hands on the table in front of him. Niall reached out and grasped one, leaning in to catch Liam's eye.

"We don't expect anything from the other that we know they can't provide." He offered Liam a soft smile. "All you can really ask from anyone is honesty, and that's what Louis gives me. He lets me know exactly where I stand."

"And that's enough?"

"For now, yeah." Niall smiled. "Besides, he's a shit liar anyway."

Liam burst out laughing, and Niall joined in. Liam was still laughing when he looked over in Harry's direction again, and saw that he was looking back at him. Just as quickly as their eyes met, Harry looked away.

"Christ, you two are terrible." Liam looked at Niall, who was chuckling to himself.

"Sod off," Liam mumbled through a smile.

"C'mon, there's a photo op to be had anyway." Despite Liam's protests, Niall pulled him out of his chair and across the room to where Louis and Harry were standing.

If looks could kill, Liam would've dropped dead when Louis glanced his way. Niall noticed and quickly put his lips to Louis' ear to whisper something that Liam didn't catch. Whatever it was softened Louis' features, though the remnants of a glare still remained.

"Liam," he said as he held out his hand. "Good to see you."

"You too, Louis." Liam shook his hand, dropping his arm back to his side as he turned to the boy standing beside him. "Harry."

"Liam," Harry replied in a similar manner as Louis did, though he made no movements towards Liam.

"How're the pups?" he asked softly, trying to gauge Harry's feelings towards him based on his reaction to the question. To Liam's dismay, Harry's eyes didn't give anything away.

"They're fine."

Liam's mouth went dry and he nervously rubbed at the back of his neck, unbelievably grateful when a photographer walked up and asked them to pose. Anything to take the edge off, to break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the four of them.

After the photo, some vaguely-important man comes up behind them to tell Louis and Niall it's time. Time for what, Liam isn't sure, but he follows Niall when he turns to follow Louis and Harry.

For a moment, Liam wonders if he should've followed at all, but Niall pulls him to his side as Louis takes his place at a microphone Liam hadn't noticed before. He sneaks a glance at Harry, whose eyes are on Louis and he feels his heart swell a bit.

The suit he was wearing made Harry look older, and definitely more handsome than Liam had ever even imagined. He found that he couldn't make himself look away, and soon his thoughts were turning to what Harry would look like if Liam had him pressed against a wall, his fists curled in his shirt as he sucked on Harry's neck and-

Liam forced himself to shut his eyes, for the last thing he needed at that moment was to get an erection in front of hundreds of people he didn't know.

He hardly listened to a word Louis said, and was greatly relieved when the room erupted in applause. It was then that he'd realized that he'd just completely zoned out during the presentation of the formal donation from Styles International, and he felt a bit foolish.

After a few more pictures, Liam worked up the courage to step closer to Harry and whisper a request in his ear.

"Can we talk?"

Harry turned his head to look at him, his face again unreadable. He didn't answer, but nodded his head slightly and followed Liam when he turned around. Neither of them noticed when Niall prevented Louis from following, but if Liam had, he would've made a mental note to buy Niall half a dozen pints as a thank you.

Liam led Harry back to the door of his office, cursing himself again for forgetting his keys. Harry stayed silent, looking at Liam expectantly as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"How've you been?" he asked softly, hating how he'd been unable to think of a better question to start with. Liam hated himself even more when Harry gave him an incredulous look and scoffed loudly.

"How've I been? How're the pups? Is that really all you can say to me?"

"Harry, I-"

"No," Harry interrupted. "Y'know, I dunno what I expected from you, Liam, but it wasn't this. You can't ignore me for weeks and then ask me how I've been like you're talking about the bloody weather!"

"Harry, I-" Liam tried again, but Harry cut him off.

"No, Liam. You want to know how I've been? I've been a fucking mess, that's how I've been. A stupid, sodding mess." Harry choked back a sob, and the sound nearly broke Liam's heart all over again.

"I'm sorry," Liam blurted out. "I'm so sorry, Harry."

Harry didn't say anything, he dropped his head to stare at the floor and shook it slowly as he took several deep breaths. Liam wasn't sure if Harry was going to look at him again, and suddenly he couldn't keep his thoughts to himself anymore.

"I've been an idiot. A complete and utterly stupid idiot and I would completely understand if I've blown everything and you never want to speak to me again, but I was just _scared_. I was scared of you and me and how you made me feel and what everything meant-" Liam cut himself off and sighed heavily. "I'm just…I'm so sorry."

"What do you want from me, Liam?" Harry's voice was soft and shaky, and he couldn't bring himself to stare at anything but the floor. Liam slowly reached out to cup his hand underneath Harry's chin, cautiously tilting his head upwards as he took a step closer.

"I want you," he whispered softly before he pressed his lips against Harry's. "That is," he said as he pulled back slightly, "if you still want me."

Harry earnestly pressed his lips back against Liam's, wrapping his arms around Liam's waist to bring them closer together before he mumbled, "of course I want you, you bloody idiot."

Liam grinned against Harry's mouth, slipping one hand into Harry's hair as the other curled around the back of his neck. Harry moaned softly when Liam gently tugged on his curls, and the sound sent shivers up Liam's spine.

"Can we-" Liam tried to pull away to finish his thought, but Harry wouldn't let him. Liam struggled to speak against Harry's lips, finally managing to say, "D'you wanna get out of here?"

Harry pulled back, an impish grin spreading across his face as he replied, "Absolutely."

Liam led Harry out the back way, trying to avoid the press at the front entrance as they flagged down a taxi. Harry attempted to reattach their lips once they slid into one, but Liam held him back.

"Where should we go? We could go to mine-"

"Yeah," Harry interrupted. "Let's go to yours. I want to see this mysterious flat that's so much better than mine."

Liam chuckled, his cheeks almost starting to hurt from smiling so much, but he decided that he didn't care as he gave the driver his address before pulling Harry back in for another kiss.

They broke apart long enough to pay the driver and make their way inside, crashing into each other practically the second Liam opened his door. Harry pressed Liam up against his front door, grinding his hips against Liam's and swallowing his moan.

"Thought you wanted to see the flat," Liam whispered cheekily as Harry began kissing and biting his neck. Harry grinned against his skin as he put his lips to Liam's ear.

"Later. Right now I don't want to look at anything but you."

Liam groaned hungrily as he pulled Harry back up to crash their lips together before tugging on his jacket, stripping it from Harry's body as quickly as he could. Harry followed suit with Liam's jacket, his fingers flying to unbutton Liam's shirt before the jacket even hit the floor.

"Bedroom?" Harry asked through a moan, and Liam started dragging him in the right direction. Various articles of clothing were lost along the way, and both of them were laughing as they scrambled to get each other undressed.

Harry's knees buckled as he backed up into the bed, Liam falling on top of him and pulling him up further as their lips met. By then, Harry was down to his pants while Liam's trousers were halfway down his thigh. Harry scrambled to pull them down the rest of the way, taking the initiative to pull Liam's pants down with them.

Liam let out another groan as his cock brushed against Harry, already so hard and aching to be touched. Harry wrapped his hand around it, his thumb teasing over the slit and spreading the few beads of precome that had gathered there. Liam moaned, rocking his hips forward as he bent his head down to suck a mark against Harry's neck.

"Wanna fuck you," he grunted in Harry's ear, reveling in the way Harry's whole body shuddered at the sound of his voice.

"Thought you'd never ask," Harry replied cheekily, tightening his grip around Liam. It was Liam's turn to shudder, and he tried to recover as quickly as possible so he could reach his nightstand, fumbling around for his lube and a condom.

Liam rolled back on top of Harry, shoving his tongue into his mouth and kissing him deeply before sliding down his body, leaving a trail of marks on Harry's pale skin as he went. Harry started to shake underneath him, crying out softly when Liam's fingers brushed against his hips and curled around the seam of his pants, pulling them down agonizingly slow over his legs.

Liam distracted Harry by licking a stripe up his cock as he slicked his fingers with lube, earning more moans mixed with curses and his name. He traced a circle around Harry's entrance, enjoying the way he tensed before Liam slowly pushed one finger inside.

"Fuck- oh, Liam- oh, _fuck_ -" Harry groaned as Liam sucked on the head of his cock while slowly worked his finger inside him. Liam waited until he felt less resistance around his finger before he pushed a second inside, twisting and spreading Harry as best he could without going too fast.

He moaned around Harry's cock, his own trapped between himself and the foot of the bed. He desperately wanted to be inside of Harry, but he didn't want to rush and risk hurting him.

"Another, Liam, _please,_ " Harry begged, one hand gripping Liam's hair while the other twisted in the sheets underneath him. Liam complied, pushing a third in as far as it would go. Harry's breath caught in his throat as Liam brushed against his prostate, and when he did it again Harry nearly screamed.

Liam pulled his mouth off of Harry and looked up at him as he continued to push against his prostate, loving the way Harry arched off the bed every time he touched it. Harry looked down, seeing Liam watch him and getting even more turned on.

"Fuck me, Liam- please- just, _fuck me._ "

As soon as the words left Harry's mouth, Liam pulled his fingers out and quickly ripped open the condom, rolling it on before he squeezed some more lube onto his fingers. He slicked up his cock, moaning softly at the sensation. He climbed back on top of Harry and lined himself up, locking eyes with him as he slowly pushed inside.

Harry tried to keep looking at Liam, but his eyes fluttered shut as his jaw fell slack in a silent moan at the feeling of Liam being inside of him. He grunted and whined softly as he wrapped his arms around Liam, pulling their bodies together as close as possible.

"Y-You okay?" Liam grunted, also overcome with how good it felt to finally be inside of him. Harry nodded furiously, his breaths coming out in short bursts as he tried to push his hips up to take Liam in further.

"I'm f-fine," Harry moaned. "Just- just _move_ , c'mon, Liam."

Liam pushed himself up on his arms, starting to thrust into Harry faster and absolutely loving the sounds that he was making. Harry was writhing beneath him, moaning Liam's name over and over along with a number of praises and curses.

"Feels so good," Liam grunted. "Fuck, Harry-"

"Harder, Liam-" he groaned. "Please!"

Liam sat up, gripping Harry's hips as he started pounding into him and hitting his prostate with every thrust. Harry started screaming beneath him, saying over and over how good it felt and how he never wanted Liam to stop.

Liam could feel himself starting to get close to the edge, and he wrapped his slick hand around Harry's neglected cock. Harry whimpered slightly at the contact, jerking his hips up into Liam's hand a few times before he pushed it away.

"N-No," he cried. "Want to come j-just from your c-cock."

Liam's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he heard that, and he nearly came then and there. He slowed down in his thrusts, pushing himself as deep into Harry as he could. He knew the head of his cock was pressing against Harry's prostate, what with the way Harry was squirming underneath him and cursing profusely, but he leaned down to swirl his tongue around Harry's right nipple.

"Just from my cock?" he whispered breathily. "That I'd like to see."

"Liam," Harry whined. "Move…"

Liam started working his hips against Harry's, staying as far inside of him as he could. Harry started panting, his eyes squeezed shut and Liam started sucking more marks into his skin.

"Come on, Harry, come for me," he groaned against Harry's skin. Harry whimpered beneath him, his whole body shaking as he tried to speak.

"F-Faster, Liam-" he cried. "So close, I'm _so_ close…"

"Like this?" Liam whispered teasingly before sitting up and thrusting into Harry like he had been before, fucking him into the mattress.

"Yes, oh _god_ , Liam, yes!" Harry cried out. "Fuck, I'm gonna- I'm gonna-"

"That's it-" Liam groaned. "Come for me, Harry."

Harry turned his head and moaned into the pillow beside him as he came, his cock twitching as it splattered come on his stomach. Liam only had to thrust a few more times before he came inside of him, moaning loudly as he shuddered.

He pulled out slowly before collapsing on Harry, not caring about the mess between them at that moment. Harry pressed his face into Liam's neck as his breathing returned to normal, pressing light kisses against his skin.

"Definitely want you," he mumbled with a smile. Liam laughed softly as he lifted his head up just enough to press a kiss to Harry's lips.

"Y'know," he said as he rolled over, pulling Harry into his arms. "I had a dream that was very similar to this."

"Really?" Harry said in an amused tone.

"Yeah," Liam replied, pressing his lips against Harry's ears as he said, "I had to see if the sounds you made were as good in real life as they were in the dream."

Harry shivered and chuckled. "Were they?"

"Absolutely," Liam replied.

*

After that night, not a day went by where Liam didn't see Harry. He spent so much time down at the shelter that on more than one occasion Niall joked that he should just give him a job and make it official.

"And leave Louis all by himself to run the company? I think not," Harry joked.

"I somehow doubt Louis is all by himself," Liam muttered under his breath, loud enough for only Harry to hear. "Hardly ever, anyway."

Harry chuckled as Liam wrapped his arms around him. Niall rolled his eyes and told them to get a room before he walked away.

"Ready for a walk?" Harry asked. Liam pressed a kiss to his cheek and nodded.

"Always."

Harry and Liam had fallen into a routine of going back to Harry and Louis' flat after their daily walks, usually curling up on the couch with the pups and watching a movie while Louis snuck out to see Niall.

"I dunno why you even bother," Liam pointed out after Louis wandered through the kitchen, mumbling something about having to go to the office. "We both know where you're going."

"Dunno what you're talking about," Louis muttered, unable to keep a smile off his face.

"Say hi to Niall, then, yeah?" Harry grinned. "And remind him that we're all doing dinner next week."

Louis rolled his eyes, not answering Harry but the smile on his face said it all. He left the flat a few minutes later, leaving the other two alone.

Harry and Liam curled up together on the couch, after having argued for several minutes over what to watch even though Liam was always going to let Harry win. He just didn't like to give up so easy.

Around half an hour through '101 Dalmatians', Liam leaned his head close to Harry's and whispered into his ear, "You're a bit like Pongo."

"What?" Harry asked with a laugh. "How so?"

"Because you're ridiculous, never take no for an answer, and you're fluffy," Liam replied as he gently ruffled Harry's hair. Harry laughed, quickly grabbing Liam's hand and keeping it away from his head.

"Does that make you my Perdita?" he asked, turning his head slightly to press a kiss to the underside of Liam's jaw. Liam smiled, rubbing his face into Harry's curls before he answered.

"Nah, I'm more like Roger. Someone has to keep you from doing stupid shit, after all."

Harry shifted underneath Liam's arms, twisting his head upwards to give Liam a weird look.

"What?"

"Well," Harry said as a soft giggle escaped from his lips, "y'know what that means?"

"What?" Liam repeated.

"Means you're into bestiality and that's a bit weird, Leeyum." Liam rolled his eyes and let out a laugh before he told Harry to shut up. Harry opened his mouth to add something, but Liam pressed his lips to Harry's, using the only proven method he had to keep Harry quiet.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://imlouisaf.tumblr.com)


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